Secret of the Cursed Ring
by Jetty1
Summary: Set after Secret of the Cursed Mask, The Kururugi twins return to the Feudal Era and reunite with the Inuyasha gang but then they are all unexpectedly transported to Middle-Earth to help decide its fate. Michiru/Sango, Inuyasha/Kaname, Miroku/Kagome
1. A New Journey Begins

**Secret of the Cursed Ring**

**By**

**Jetty1**

Summary

Set after Secret of the Cursed Mask, The Kururugi twins return to the Feudal Era and reunite with the Inuyasha gang but then they are all unexpectedly transported to Middle-Earth to help decide its fate. The twins must prove themselves capable once again to both friends and strangers as they rekindle their relationships with the ones they love.

**Recently renovated!**

Chapter 1: A New Journey Begins

Feudal Japan

Being back in Feudal Japan felt good, Michiru took in the sweet air of the nature around him. He and his sister Kaname had just return to the Feudal Era yesterday with help from their friend Kagome. They had found the necessary magic to pass through the well at Kagome's home and talked about everything with their parents. They had allowed them to return just so long as they remembered to come home when necessary and to catch up on school work.

After returning to the Feudal Era, they had met up with Inuyasha the powerful half-demon who his sister grew very fond of, Shippo the little Fox Demon, Miroku the amorous monk and Sango the lovely Demon Slayer who had taken his soul away.

He remembered the time they had first met; as they were on their way to the castle town where Naraku was hiding, Michiru was praising Miroku's capabilities as a monk and Sango was very moody. He felt that she didn't like him but he soon learned that her foul mood was directed at Miroku for Michiru didn't know the he used his reputation as a monk to con people out of money and attract women.

Over time Michiru began to grow close to Sango for reasons beyond count; he felt bad for what she had to endure at the hands of Naraku, he wanted to comfort her whenever she was thinking about Kohaku, he even admired her strength and determination as a warrior. All these reasons piled to the conclusion that he was in love with Sango.

However Sango had feelings for Miroku before he came along and he wondered what she saw in him. Michiru tried to deny these feelings but to no avail, then he tried to hide them but eventually Inuyasha and Kaname caught on to it. By the time they had finally defeated Naraku the magic from Michiru and Kaname's ancestor Utsugi had begun to fade and as Michiru and Kaname were being transported back home and feeling compelled, Michiru declared his love for Sango as everyone listened. What surprised him was that Kaname as well had declared her love for Inuyasha which left everyone speechless as they vanished.

By the next month, Michiru and Kaname were paid a surprise visit from Kagome. She didn't go into the Kururugis' feelings for Inuyasha and Sango, but she knew that the gang wasn't the same without the Kururugi twins; despite that Naraku was dead and their main purpose had ended. After a week of researching through the supplies at the Kururugi Shrine, they met up with Kagome and she helped them get back through the Well with the use of their combined magic and they were allowed to pass through.

After getting back, they were reunited with their friends and took the time to talk about recent events. Shortly after The Kururugi twins vanished, their friends found remnants of Naraku as they were searching for the remaining jewel shards, but luckily his hold over Kohaku hadn't resurfaced, yet. Today they would go and search for the remnants as well as the remaining jewel shards and put an end to it all. They decided that it would be okay to bring Kohaku along since most of his memories had returned and that he could be helpful to them. With the way things were going it had been almost as if Michiru and Kaname had never left.

He turned his head slightly and saw Sango walking with Kohaku and smiled at her happiness. When she was about to spot him he returned his attention to the road as he and his friends traveled toward Kasasagi Town.

"What are smiling about?" He heard a voice to his right, it belonged to Inuyasha.

"Oh, just admiring the scenery." He replied nervously.

Inuyasha smirked and said, "Are you sure you're not thinking about Sango?"

Michiru gaped at the direct statement Inuyasha had made. He knew Inuyasha wasn't the kind of guy to talk about his feelings for it would ruin his reputation as the tough guy, but he was shocked that Inuyasha would tease him like that and in front of everyone.

"What, no I'm not, at least I wasn't?! that is..." Michiru replied nervously for he was thinking about Sango and was trying to hide it, and failing.

"Ha, ha, I guessed right." Inuyasha laughed as Michiru blushed tried to hide his face.

Kagome looked at him and said, "Don't tease him like that, Inuyasha. You should know by now how sensitive Michiru is."

Inuyasha looked back at Kagome and said, "Hey, I'm just messing around. Besides, it's not like it's a big secret that he loves Sango."

Kagome replied with concern, "Yeah, but you're hurting his feelings and a nice guy like him doesn't deserve it."

Inuyasha scoffed and kept on walking. Unbeknownst to Michiru, Inuyasha and Kagome, Sango who was walking with her brother and Kaname in the back flushed when she overheard the conversation up ahead. Kaname saw this and asked the Demon Slayer, "Sango, are you okay?"

Sango looked at Kaname and said, "I'm fine."

Kaname looked at Kohaku who was getting the message and said, "Sis, do you like Michiru?"

Sango blushed and tried to avoid the subject by walking faster but Kohaku and Kaname kept up with her in order to get an answer. She simply said to her brother, "Kohaku, I'm a Demon Slayer; Michiru is a magician from another time. We're too different for each other even if I did..."

Kaname could easily tell that she did like Michiru and said to her, "Sango, I know my brother better than anyone; and you two have more in common than you seem to realize."

Sango looked at the Kururugi girl and asked her daringly almost out of curiosity, "Like what?"

"Well, you two like each other and are afraid to talk about it; but if you two were left alone we could only imagine what common traits you two will share with each other," Kaname said with a big smile on her face as Sango blushed even more. "And even though relationships rely on common traits, it's usually the opposites that attract one another. For instance, you're more of the physical fighter whereas my bro is more into magic; but put the two of you together and you'll both be unstoppable."

Sango couldn't help but to smile at Kaname's statement and before she could say anything, Michiru yelled, "Guys, there's someone in trouble!"

Everyone turned their attention toward the road down the hill to a bridge over a river where a mysterious figure was being harassed by thugs. The mysterious man was seven feet tall and clad in blue robes with sapphires. Inuyasha stepped forward sniffed the air and said, "Be careful, I smell something strange here."

Michiru said determinedly, "Well, we can't just stand here and let them hurt him. Let's go!"

With that said, everyone ran down the road and as the mysterious man was knocked to the ground, the thugs were about to strike him down when Michiru sent a Shikigami Wind Blast which knocked the ringleader off his feet and sent him flying until he collided with the butt of a tree. The other thugs charged at him and were stopped by Inuyasha who unsheathed his Tetsusaiga and parried their sword attacks until Sango leaped over him and knocked them out with a swing of her Hiraikotsu.

As the beaten thugs groaned in pain, Inuyasha sheathed his sword but didn't take his hand off it as Michiru cautiously approached the mysterious man and said, "Are you okay, sir? Are you hurt?"

The mysterious man stood up and replied, "I'm fine, thank you for saving me." Everyone approached him to get a better look at the mysterious man and he said, "Now the fate of Middle-Earth will be decided."

Michiru grew nervous and asked, "What do you mean?"

The mysterious man turned and revealed himself. He was a young man with pointed ears similar to Sesshomaru's. He looked at them and said, "You and your friends will now decide the fate of Middle-Earth, whether it is to live on in peace or to whither in the darkness of evil."

Everyone looked at him puzzled as a huge gust started to blow in and the river grew violent. The mysterious man raised his hands as he manipulated the gust and said, "You must vanquish the evil that threatens Middle-Earth or it may come to destroy your world and everything in it," Suddenly a whirlpool formed in the river. "Now go my friends and bring peace to Middle-Earth."

The wind picked up hard and everyone except the mysterious man was blown off the bridge and into the vortex swirling while screaming. Everyone found themselves deep under water after the vortex vanished and out of desperation they swam up to the surface. Once they gasped for air they looked around and found themselves in a whole new area. They were in a huge lake near a town with houses in the hills, it was sunset and they could hear cheering coming from the nearby town.

Inuyasha grew annoyed and said, "Alright, where did that weird guy send us?!"

Michiru responded, "I don't know, but I don't think we're in Feudal Japan anymore."

* * *

**Thus ends chapter one. I've recently renovated this story for I felt so eager to make this fanfic that I jumped the gun on some of the characters. Plus my eagerness made me put one too many characters into it so I decided to keep Kohaku and leave Sesshomaru's group alone, besides as fun as their rivalry might be I doubt Middle-Earth would take kindly Sesshomaru's killer instinct. Being that the shard is still in Kohaku's back I don't know if Naraku will appear in Middle-Earth but I'll keep the option open.**

**I hope the Renovation pays off.**


	2. Unexpected Guests

Chapter 2: Unexpected Guests

Middle-Earth: The Shire

The gang from Feudal Japan had swam to shore after looking at their surroundings and quickly dried themselves off before making their way up a large hill toward civilization. Inuyasha was still annoyed that the mysterious man had tossed them into the river that mysteriously put them into the lake.

"If I see that guy again I'm gonna toss him into a river; and what is this Middle-Earth anyway?!" He barked out loud.

Miroku spoke up to answer his comments, "I've never heard of this Middle-Earth but that mysterious traveler did claim that it was in danger and that we would be the ones to save it."

"Yeah, well he could've at least asked first." He responded.

Kaname saw how annoyed he was and said in a polite manner, "Inuyasha, if people are in danger then it's our responsibility to help them whether we're asked or not."

Inuyasha scoffed and didn't say anything else after that; not wanting to get in argument with her. He could choose to argue but not with Kaname, she was as innocent as her brother, and that was a quality within them that he did not want to see go away.

Sango spoke as she gazed at the scenery around them, "So far I don't see any danger. There're no demons, no monsters, no anything. It looks so calm and peaceful."

Shippo showed a hint of fear and said, "Does anyone think it's too calm around here? It's a little too quiet."

Inuyasha spoke over him, "It's not quiet, listen."

To everyone's surprise it wasn't too quiet; they could hear music playing and the voices many people enjoying themselves and it was coming from the nearby town. Suddenly they saw a huge firecracker shoot up into the sky and explode into white streams of light. Everyone was surprised by this for the firecracker was different than most when it didn't dissipate right away.

Kagome was the only one who spoke with delight, "Wow, they have fireworks. There must be a party going on up there!"

Inuyasha looked at Michiru hoping he could explain, being a Modern kid and all. Michiru smiled and said, "Well, I guess we should check it out. Besides we might find some information up there."

Inuyasha responded almost humorously, "Yeah, provided nobody's too drunk to tell us anything." Michiru couldn't help but to laugh and with that they rushed toward the town to see where they had gotten themselves into.

By the time they had arrived they saw all the partygoers only to their surprise, they were all the size of children. As everyone looked bewilderedly at the scene, Kaname was the one to ask, "Are they all children?"

Miroku responded, "It looks that way. I do wonder where their mothers are; someone should watch over them." The girls began to give Miroku the death glare when he hastily said, "I meant someone should watch over the children."

Kagome walked toward the party and said, "Well, I'll go ask them where their parents are."

Inuyasha looked at her and asked, "What are we supposed to do, hide behind a bush?!"

Kagome looked at Inuyasha and said, "We can't just go marching up there, you might scare them."

Inuyasha grew aggravated and said, "Why me?!"

Kagome replied, "Hello, you have dog ears and fangs!"

Inuyasha was about to say something insulting when Michiru got between them and said, "Now's not the time to fight, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha got annoyed having to back down and said as Kagome got out from the bush, "This ain't over."

Kagome walked over to the nearest child and said, "Um, excuse me?" When the child turned, he looked old, about as old as her grandfather.

"Yes, what can I do for you, big lass?" He asked her, giving her a suspicious look at her attire.

Kagome picked her jaw up and asked nervously, "C-Can you tell me... uh, what's going on here?"

The short old man responded, "Why sure, we're celebrating Bilbo Baggins' one hundred and eleventh birthday."

Kagome was surprised, not just by the short old man but that someone had lived to be one hundred and eleven years-old. She simply said, "Thank you." She went back to the others who were already browsing around trying to keep Inuyasha under control and she almost walked into two of the small people carrying a huge firecracker in the shape of a dragon.

They dropped it believing they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar but after getting a good look at her, they sighed in relief. One of them wearing a yellow vest said, "Oh thank goodness you're not Gandalf."

Kagome saw that they weren't as old as the other man but they weren't children either, they looked about her age despite their size. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know any Gandalf."

The one wearing a green vest said as he picked up the firecracker, "You don't know who Gandalf is? Then you didn't come here with him?"

Kagome replied, "I'm afraid not, me and my friends just got here. Forgive me for asking but what exactly are you?"

The one in the yellow vest laughed and answered, "Why we're hobbits of the Shire; my name is Meriadoc Brandybuck but everyone just calls me Merry, and this is my cousin Peregrin Took but everyone calls him Pippin and on behalf of all hobbits, welcome to the Shire. But if you didn't come here with Gandalf, then who did you come to the party with?"

Kagome was nervous for she never heard of any of this. She said, "Well, we were just simply passing by when we heard the music." She stopped when she saw Inuyasha and the others walked toward her. "Everyone, this is Merry and Pippin." She looked at the hobbits and said, "These are my friends."

Inuyasha said as he approached, "We saw that you were just standing here so we decided to look around." Inuyasha then looked down at Merry and Pippin and said, "So I take it you're not all children, huh?"

Merry replied rather sorely, "Of course not. We're hobbits. This is our homeland the Shire, you should know that if you're gonna be traveling through here."

Michiru responded nervously, "Well, we kind of came here unexpectedly."

Merry said, "Hmm, maybe you should go see Gandalf."

"Maybe who should go see Gandalf?"

Everyone turned and saw a normal-sized old man with a long grey beard dressed in grey wrinkled robes with a serious wise look on his face. Merry and Pippin grew nervous by his appearance and tried to hide the firecracker as Pippin said, "Well, we'll be off then. Wish you guys the best of luck."

With that, the two hobbits ran off with the firecracker. Michiru couldn't help but to crack up at this. The old man approached them and looked closely at there strange clothes. Though they appeared strange, he could sense no evil about them however he could not help but to be mindful of Inuyasha's demeanor.

Michiru noticed this and said to Gandalf, "We're sorry for intruding on this celebration, my name is Michiru Kururugi, and this is my twin sister Kaname and our friends Kagome Higurashi, Inuyasha. Sango and her younger brother Kohaku, Miroku, Kilala, and Shippo. We came here unexpectedly by a mysterious traveler."

Gandalf listened to the tale of how they got there and was surprised by all of this and yet he said nothing. Instead he gazed at each one of them: He sensed that Michiru was kind and generous. Kaname showed that she was a brave yet timid young girl. He saw that Inuyasha was arrogant but noticed a hint of loyalty toward his friends. Kagome was a young girl of great talent and sense of willpower. Sango held great strength and determination as well as her brother. Kilala and Shippo held such kindness that could make even him smile and Miroku showed humbleness and concern. Gandalf said, "I sense no lies to your tale but you do not reveal all. What world do you all come from?"

Michiru replied, "Feudal Japan."

Gandalf asked, "I have never heard of Japan but why is it feudal?"

Michiru responded, "Well, Me, my sister and Kagome come from five hundred years ahead of our friends in the Modern Era and we decided to stay in the Feudal Era to help stand by our friends."

Gandalf took a minute and then said, "I sense no evil in any of you. Maybe mischief and past discrepancies but no evil; however I suggest that you all stay with my friend Bilbo, and his nephew Frodo. They are celebrating Bilbo's Birthday this evening. I will tell them both about your situation but I suggest that you keep this story to yourselves. We don't want word to spread to any unwanted ears. So come and enjoy the party."

As Gandalf wandered off, Inuyasha said, "Can we trust this guy?"

Kagome replied, "It is kind of him to trust us, after all we're the strangers here. And besides it would be nice to simply relax and enjoy ourselves for a change."

Michiru said, "Yeah and we've been traveling for awhile, it would be good to rest up here."

Miroku put on a smile and said, "Well then if you'll all excuse me, I shall make my way toward the catering area."

Everyone then wandered around and enjoyed the festivities. Kilala was playing with some of the hobbit children while Shippo was showing most of them his fox magic and they were delighted when he showed them his firecrackers.

Inuyasha and Miroku were at the tables enjoying the food and the ale while Sango, Kagome and Kaname sat back eating delicious cake.

"I tell you, these people sure have good taste in food." Inuyasha mumbled as he chewed on a piece of corn.

"Yes and this ale is a rather soothing drink." Miroku said as he politely sipped his mug.

As the girls watched them, Kagome said in a rather sulky manner, "We arrive at a party and the first thing on Inuyasha's mind is food."

Sango responded bitterly, "Yeah, and what kind of monk immediately thinks about alcohol?"

Kaname looked at the two and said, "Hey, it's better than them sitting around daydreaming like my brother."

Sango looked at Kaname and asked with a smile, "Michiru daydreams?"

Kaname replied, "Yeah, one day in school his mind wandered off and he ended up drawing a sketch of you." Sango blushed deeply upon hearing this. Kaname continued, "His teacher then chided him for it and then told him to dream night not in school."

Sango's blush faded and immediately started laughing.

Meanwhile, Michiru and Kohaku had bumped into the two hobbits from before, Merry and Pippin, and were making good conversation with them.

"So this Bilbo person journeyed with Gandalf and thirteen dwarves to slay a dragon who had taken their home?" Kohaku had asked referring to Bilbo's journey to the Lonely Mountain.

"Oh yes, and he encountered trolls, goblins, elves and a strange creature known as Gollum; and when they finally reached the Lonely Mountain they were involved in the Battle of the Five Armies." Merry replied.

Michiru then asked, "What were the Five Armies?"

Pippin responded, "It was consisted of elves, dwarves, men, eagles and a large group of orcs. The men, the elves and the eagles joined the dwarves to help them defeat the evil forces, but many lives were lost even some of the thirteen dwarves had died."

Michiru said, "That so sad, and Bilbo was fifty-one when this happened?"

"That's right, but fifty-one is still considerably young to us hobbits." Merry said.

After a while they all gathered at a big table and spoke of the good time they were having. They were amazed when Merry and Pippin had said that Gandalf was a wizard and that he made the fireworks. They were suddenly met by another old hobbit that looked to be very cheerful. "You all must be the people Gandalf spoke of. Gandalf just told me about you."

Kaname asked, "Are you Bilbo?"

The old hobbit smiled and said, "Why goodness, yes! And don't worry we hobbits may be small but there's enough space in Bag End for all of you. I hope you are all enjoying yourselves, but if you'll excuse me I have to prepare my speech for tonight; until we meet again!" With that Bilbo scurried off.

Kaname turned to the others and said, "He seems nice."

"They all seem nice." Michiru stated.

Miroku looked at the hobbits who were dancing with a concerned look and said, "Yes and it would explain why that mysterious traveler brought us here. It would be a shame if these nice hobbits were to fall victim to whatever evil that threatens them."

Everyone went back to enjoying themselves. Miroku found a rather pretty hobbit that he couldn't take his eyes off of and the girls gave him death glares which made him back off. Michiru and Kaname were sitting near Gandalf asking how he uses magic without being too annoying and Inuyasha had finished beating Shippo in cake eating contest which left Shippo's stomach sore.

"Maybe in ten years you'd have a chance of beating me, Shippo." Inuyasha said in triumphant.

"I-I don't feel so good." Shippo said as he rolled off the chair and onto the ground.

They all stopped what they were doing when they heard everyone say, "Speech, speech, Bilbo!"

Bilbo stepped onto a podium and welcomed everyone to his birthday party. After the pleasantries he wore a sad look which raised concern from everyone as he said, "I regret to announce that this is the end. I going now and I bid you all a very fond farewell. Goodbye." And suddenly he vanished at the blink of an eye.

As the hobbits sat there shocked out of their minds, Inuyasha's group turned their heads trying to spot him and they noticed Gandalf was gone as well. Inuyasha sniffed the air and said, "They're still here, I can smell them. Let's go find them."

When they came up toward Bag End following Inuyasha's lead, they were baffled to see Bilbo wander off down the road singing to himself while Gandalf went inside the house. Most of them watched Bilbo walk off into the night while Kagome walked up to Gandalf and saw that he was looking at a lovely golden ring lying on the floor. He went to reach for it but quickly pulled his hand away as he saw her standing there.

"That's a beautiful ring." Kagome said, marveled by its beauty.

Gandalf pulled the door shut and said, "Yes, it is, but do not touch it. None of you must touch it for it now belongs to Frodo; but when he gets here tell him to put it in an envelope and to keep it safe. There are some things I must see to. It would be best if you all stay here and keep your story to yourselves. Bilbo has gone to stay with the Elves but Frodo is still here and knows your story. He shall help you with whatever you need."

He grabbed his staff, pointed hat and got on his horse and then rode off into the night. Everyone stood there and could only wonder what was going on.

* * *

**I'm intended to follow movie-verse of the Lord of the Rings for those who are wondering. The book was good but the movie made a little more sense to me like when Gandalf left the Shire, in the book it took a few years to get to Minas Tirith on horse-back; in the movie it took at least a few days which made sense since it was a short ride from Edoras to Minas Tirith in the Return of the King.**


	3. Shadow of the Past

Chapter 3: Shadow of the Past

Middle-Earth: The Shire

Later that night the gang finally met Frodo who was much younger than his uncle and less outgoing. He was asking about Bilbo and Gandalf. They had told him that they left and that he was to keep the ring in a safe place. He later found them a room to sleep in and accepted any questions they had.

For the next few days, they had found stuff for them to do while they spent their time in Hobbiton as it was called. Inuyasha had gone out to chop some wood; and what surprised the hobbits was the size of his sword. Each time he swung it, they tried to maintain their distance.

"Blimey! How is he able to lift a blade that's bigger than him?!" One of the older hobbits said to the others as Inuyasha lifted the Tetsusaiga over his head took another swing.

"There's a reason they call them big folk, they can lift more than we can with ease." Another hobbit replied back.

"Maybe we should leave him alone so we don't get chopped up."

Right after he said that, Inuyasha stopped chopping and gathered up all the wood and then took it over to their houses. He dropped them off and then walked away without saying a word which took the hobbits by surprise. Inuyasha's mind pondered on the things he heard them say.

"I saw that." He heard a familiar voice. It was Kaname. Inuyasha turned around and saw her with a smile on her face as she said, "You did something nice for them while they were worried that you would chop them up."

Inuyasha snorted and said, "I only chop up wood and demons, nothing else."

Kaname's smile only grew wider as he walked away. This kept on and Kaname would always watch as the hobbits grew less terrified of Inuyasha.

Sango and Kohaku would spend most of their time practice sparring while Shippo, Kilala and some of the hobbit children came to watch; intrigued by they're fighting styles. The first time started when Kohaku jumped into the air and threw his Kasarigama at Sango who held up her Boomerang Bone to block it. But then the steel chain wrapped around it and Kohaku pulled himself toward his sister which landed him right in front of her and allowed him to knock away her weapon. He then drew his sword and took a swing only for her to duck and draw her own sword for which Kohaku jumped over the streaking slice and their swords clashed. Kohaku was very quick with his strikes whereas Sango was the more powerful and soon after a final parry both brought their swords to a halt just inches away from their necks.

"Wow, Kohaku, you've gotten better." Sango said, praising her brother.

Kohaku smiled and replied, "Thank you, sis. I used to not like fighting but when I remembered all the bad things Naraku did, I realized that I had to fight back. But in a way, I'm actually glad that I didn't have to fight him."

Sango smiled at him and then noticed that Shippo, Kilala and the hobbit children were watching and walked over to them.

"Why were you two fighting?" One of the hobbit children asked.

"We weren't really fighting; we were just practicing." Sango replied.

"Practicing for what?" Another hobbit asked.

Sango smiled and started explaining that they were demon slayers and that they were required to practice every day to be prepared for when demons should attack people.

"Wow, that's amazing!" was all that the young hobbits' had said in amazement. Follow that the hobbits grew to like the two Demon Slayers and Sango couldn't help but to feel like a mother.

Kaname became quick friends with Merry, Pippin and a hobbit named Samwise Gamgee. As soon as she learned that they were good at cooking, she was more than glad to get them to improve Kagome's cooking skills.

Michiru, Miroku and Kagome were looking at maps with Frodo to get a sense of where they were and were told a few tales by Frodo about the well known locations relayed by his uncle.

"Are these maps completely accurate?" Miroku had asked Frodo.

"Yes. Bilbo always used accurate maps to tell his journey sixty years ago." Frodo replied.

Michiru looked at the map of Middle-Earth and said as he pointed northwest on the map, "So we're in the Shire up here?"

Frodo nodded as Kagome asked, "So where do you think Gandalf went?"

Frodo smiled and said, "Gandalf comes and goes as he pleases, but he tends to travel south towards Gondor once and a while."

When everyone got back, Michiru shared this information with them. After hearing more from Frodo about the different locations of Middle-Earth, Inuyasha asked as he pointed to the south east of the map, "So let me get this straight, the land of Mordor was ruled by some evil warlord who tried to take over the world three thousand years ago?"

Frodo responded, "Yes, according to Gandalf he often sought refuge here in Dol Guldur but Mordor was his kingdom. Some say that despite his defeat his dark power still dwells there."

Miroku put his thumb and index finger to his chin as he looked at the map and said, "Hmm, It is possible that this place must be the evil that our mysterious traveler spoke of. If dark power still dwells there then it could still threaten Middle-Earth."

Frodo replied, "I don't think so. Orcs are powerful but reckless creatures that don't take orders from anyone except their own. Since the dark lord's fall, no other being has been able to command them."

Though they did not argue that issue, everyone wasn't completely convinced by it. If evil still lingered in a place that's been leaderless for three thousand years, it was still not good news. However they decided not to let it bother them since there was no trouble at the moment and things were going smoothly.

Later that night, Inuyasha, Miroku, Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin went out to the tavern while the others remained at Bag End discussing their situation.

"This place is beautiful. It's so calm and peaceful; I couldn't bear to see anything bad happen to it." Kaname said.

Michiru replied, "Yeah, most of the hobbits here are very polite and thoughtful. But after hearing about the elves, I hope we can get a chance to see them."

"Same here, but right now we have to figure out what we're after. Our duty to protect these people has to come first and we can't do that if we're going around sight-seeing. We're not exactly on vacation here." Kagome interjected.

"She's right," Sango spoke up. "The sooner we get this over with easier it will be to get back to our own world."

_**Knock, knock, knock!**_

They heard someone at the door and Sango decided to answer it. She opened the door and inside came a very weary Gandalf. He looked at Sango and said, "Ah, so you're still here? That's good, but I'm afraid that I must speak with Frodo privately."

Sango replied, "Frodo's not here at the moment."

He frowned and then asked, "Do you happen to known where he is?"

Michiru stood up and said, "He went with Inuyasha and Miroku down to the tavern."

Gandalf sighed in relief and said, "I must ask that you fetch him for I must speak with him immediately."

Michiru nodded and ran out to find Frodo while the others obeyed Gandalf's request to step outside and shut the door behind them.

As Frodo returned to the house while Michiru joined his friends, the young hobbit was feeling uneasy. Michiru told him that Gandalf had returned and wanted to speak with him privately, but when he entered the house all the lights were out and the fire place had been dimmed and there was a chill blowing through the house.

Suddenly a hand fell upon his shoulder and turned him around. He saw Gandalf with a weary look upon his face as he asked, "Is it secret? Is it safe?"

Frodo quickly understood what he meant and ran toward one of the chests that contained documents digging through. Gandalf heard a crow outside and turned to make sure they were safe. Frodo finally found an envelope which contained the Ring that Gandalf had ordered to keep hidden. He gave it to Gandalf who then threw it into the fireplace.

"What are you doing?!" Frodo asked bewilderedly.

Gandalf grabbed clippers just as the envelope shriveled up revealing the golden ring completely unaffected by the flames. Gandalf picked it up using the clippers and said, "Hold out your hand, Frodo."

Frodo looked even more confused wondering how he would be able to hold a hot piece of metal until Gandalf assured him, "It's quite cool."

He dropped the ring in Frodo's palm and to his surprise it wasn't the least bit hot. Gandalf asked in a desperate manner, "What can you see? Can you see anything?"

Frodo looked at the ring and fiddled with it a bit and saw no change. "Nothing, there's nothing."

Gandalf let out a sigh of relief when Frodo said, "Wait," Suddenly strange writing started to glow upon the band of the ring. Frodo recognized part of the writing but couldn't make out its origin. "There are markings. Its some form of elvish but I can't read it."

Gandalf's face expressed grimness as he said, "There are few who can. The language is that of Mordor which I will not utter here."

"Mordor?" Frodo said with surprise.

Gandalf looked him in the eye and said, "In the common tongue it says, 'One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.'"

Frodo and Gandalf made their way into the kitchen as Gandalf told him the tale about the Great Rings of Power while Frodo placed the ring on the table. And as Frodo poured some tea for Gandalf, he concluded the tale. "This is the One Ring forged by the Dark Lord Sauron in the fires of Mt. Doom taken by Isildur from the hand of Sauron himself."

Frodo was shocked by this revelation and said, "But Bilbo found in Gollum's Cave."

Gandalf nodded and continued, "Yes, and for sixty years the Ring laid quiet in Bilbo's keeping. Prolonging his life, delaying old age," Gandalf's face grew grim as he finished. "But no longer, Frodo; evil is once again stirring in the land of Mordor. The Ring has awoken. It's heard its master's call."

This news started scare Frodo. His uncle was carrying the weapon of evil for sixty years and it is only now started to rouse attention? He found this hard to believe. "But he was destroyed. Sauron was destroyed."

Suddenly they heard a strange voice say something unrecognizable. They turned toward the source of the voice. It was coming from the ring.

Gandalf looked at Frodo and said, "No, Frodo, the spirit of endured. His life force is bound the ring and the ring survived. Sauron has returned. His Orcs have multiplied; his fortress of Barad-Dur is now rebuilt in the land of Mordor. Sauron needs only this ring to cover all the lands of a second darkness. He is now seeking it, all of his thoughts are bent on it and the ring yearns above all else to return to the hand of its master. They are one, the Ring and the Dark Lord. Frodo, he must never find it."

Without hesitation, Frodo took the ring and walked away as he said, "Alright, we'll put it away, keep it hidden and never speak of it again; no one knows its here, do they?" Gandalf was silent as he joined Frodo in the living room and Frodo asked him, "Do they, Gandalf?"

Gandalf sighed and said, "There is one other who knew that Bilbo had the ring. I looked everywhere for the creature, Gollum. But the enemy found him first. I don't know how long they tortured him, but amidst the endless screams and delaying babble he said two words: Shire, Baggins."

Frodo started to grow scared as he put the pieces together. "Shire, Baggins? But that will lead them here." He then held out the ring and said, "Take it, Gandalf, you must take it"

Gandalf tried to keep his distance from the now panicking Frodo and said, "No, Frodo, you cannot offer me this ring."

"I'm giving it to you." Frodo replied, begging Gandalf to take the cursed ring as far away as possible.

"Don't tempt me, Frodo!" This made the young hobbit get a grip on himself as Gandalf said, "I cannot take not even to keep it safe. Please understand, Frodo, I would use this ring for the desire to do good but through me the ring would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine."

Frodo started to understand and said, "But it cannot stay in the Shire."

Gandalf shook his head and said, "No, no it can't

Frodo held the ring tightly and asked, "What must I do?"

Frodo quickly packed some supplies as Gandalf told him to get out of the Shire and to head toward the town of Bree at the Inn of the Prancing Pony while Gandalf would go to see the head of his Order for counsel. As he finished packing, the young hobbit suddenly realized something. "Wait, Gandalf, what about the others? Do you think they should be left here alone?"

Gandalf looked at Frodo; he hadn't thought about them for he was mostly concerned with Frodo and the Ring, but he was concerned about their presence in the Shire. If the Enemy were to learn of their presence, they would more than likely take them prisoner. Though he hadn't known them long and got a bad vibe about some of them, they were still good people and they merely wish to help. Just before he could answer Frodo's question, they heard the bushes outside the near window rustle. They then heard a few whispers and Gandalf said, "Get down."

Gandalf picked up his staff and slowly approached the window. The bushes moved a little more and Gandalf seized his chance. He hit the thing in the bushes and it grunted in pain.

Upon recognizing the voice he tossed his staff and pulled the thing hiding in the bushes through the window and onto the table saying, "Confound it all, Sam-!"

Suddenly he got a good look at who he had pulled through window. It was Kagome. He let go of her shoulders and she slowly sat up, looking at him nervously.

"I could have sworn that I heard Samwise Gamgee." Gandalf said. Kagome simply smiled nervously, hoping that he wouldn't punish her, until suddenly Inuyasha came running in with his hand on the Tetsusaiga being that he couldn't draw it in the small house.

"Let her go." He said.

"No need to fear, boy." Gandalf replied, unimpressed by his entrance.

"Well I didn't know what you would do, old man." Inuyasha said gruffly as he took his hand off the Tetsusaiga.

"I would do what I would do to any eavesdropper." He said, watching as Michiru, Kaname, Miroku, Sango and Kohaku entered behind him as Shippo, Kilala and Sam hid behind the doorframe. "Have you all been eavesdropping?!" Everyone said nothing as they hung their heads, but Sam hid behind the doorframe scared of the wizard's anger.

Finally Michiru stepped forward and said, "We want to help Frodo, Mister Gandalf."

Gandalf smiled slightly to the Kururugi boy's courage and said, "I'm afraid it doesn't matter whether you want to or not. You will accompany him."

Inuyasha then said, "Who are you to tell us what we will do?"

Gandalf replied sternly, "Because he will need your help and besides, we cannot risk the Enemy coming here and learning of your presence. The Dark Lord will have you captured and questioned for information on Frodo as well as your origin."

Inuyasha said, "Are you saying that we're weak you old-?"

"Inuyasha, sit!" Kagome yelled.

Gandalf, Frodo and Sam were surprised when they saw Inuyasha hit the floor face first. Inuyasha groaned in pain as Gandalf looked at Kagome and actually laughed. He turned to Frodo and said, "Well, that settles it. You will take Sam and all of them with you to Bree. I will meet you all there at the Inn of the Prancing Pony; and as I said before I must see the head of my Order, he will know what to do now that the ring has been found." Gandalf turned toward the others. "Get as much rest as you all can. We will be leaving at dawn. And as for you Samwise, since you started the eavesdropping I've thought of a proper punishment for you."

* * *

**And the Journey to Bree begins. For the Characters POVs I figured Michiru would be, like Sam, fascinated with the Elves and would be the one to try and hold the team together. Soon Inuyasha will find common ground with the dwarves in regards to attitude and mannerisms. I can see him and Gimli getting along after the Fellowship is forged. Sango and Aragorn will be the conflicted warriors who know what its like to feel forbidden to fall in love. I can also see Shippo and Kaname getting along with Merry and Pippin in regards to playing jokes and picking food.**


	4. The Journey to Bree

Chapter 4: The Journey to Bree

Middle-Earth: The Shire

Early the next day just at the crack of dawn, the twelve of them got up and set off toward Bree. They each carried a small sack of provisions that would last them a while; even though Gandalf only said that they were going to Bree, they had no idea what would befall them upon the road and figured to play it safe while most of them were traveling in a whole new world. As the sun started peeking over the mountains, Gandalf had gotten a horse and led the group across fields of grass that were far from the roads.

He looked back and saw that everyone managed to stay close to him except one and he said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Come along, Samwise! Keep up!"

Sam heard him and pushed himself to go faster since he was carrying most of the baggage as punishment for his eavesdropping. Some of the others volunteered to help him but Gandalf told them not to and they decided not to go against the wizard's wishes.

After an hour of traveling, Gandalf began to slow down and said, "This is where I leave you. Now be careful, all of you. The enemy has many spies in his service; birds, beasts, even men." He turned his attention toward Frodo and asked, "Is it safe?" Frodo nodded as he placed his hand on his left jacket pocket. "Never put it on for the agents of the dark lord will be drawn to its power. Always remember, Frodo, the ring is trying to get back to its master. It wants to be found." Frodo nodded understandingly.

Gandalf jumped onto his horse and road off leaving everyone to make their way toward Bree. Michiru looked at Frodo and asked, "So which way do we go now?"

Frodo replied, "We'll cut through the fields until we reach Brandywine River and cross there. Then we'll head northeast from there."

"Sounds like a plan, let's get going then." Miroku said.

Sam had a look of fear as he said, "I don't like water."

Inuyasha looked at him and said, "How can you not like water?"

Sam mumbled, "I... I can't swim."

This caught Michiru's attention as he said lightheartedly, "Oh, don't worry, Sam. I'll teach you how."

Sam looked at Michiru curiously, "Really?"

Michiru replied, "Yeah, back home I happen to be a great swimmer."

Sam was intrigued by this and asked, "Really?"

Shippo answered him, "Yeah, one time when I went for a swim, I accidently jumped in the deep end and started to drown and then Michiru jumped right in and saved me. He was as fast as a speeding arrow."

Sam smiled and thought that maybe Michiru could help him overcome his fear of drowning.

"Alright, enough dawdling let's get moving." Inuyasha said gruffly.

And so the group traveled as the day went by. Inuyasha and Miroku took the front to make sure that they weren't ambushed; Kagome stayed close to Shippo, Kohaku and Kilala in the middle and Michiru, Kaname and Sango took the back to stay close to the hobbits for even though they were people of Middle-Earth they had never traveled beyond the Shire so they needed to be close guarded. It was nearly sundown when the group came to the end of a grass field near the edge of a forest when Sam suddenly stopped which caused everyone else to stop as he said, "This is it."

Frodo looked confused and asked, "This is what?"

"If I take one more step, it'll be the farthest away from home I've ever been." Sam replied with a sad expression on his face.

Inuyasha was getting annoyed and said, "This is no time to get homesick. We need to keep moving."

"Inuyasha, don't be rude!" Kagome yelled.

Inuyasha snorted as Kaname approached Sam and said, "Sam, don't worry about it. My brother, Kagome and I know what it feels like to be far away from home and trust me you will get over it, because when it's all over home will be there waiting for you."

Michiru approached them and said, "She's right, and we'll make sure that you make it back safe and sound."

Frodo said encouragingly, "Come on, Sam."

Sam slowly raised his left foot and took one step and then started to walk while everyone supported him.

Frodo walked beside him and said, "Remember what Bilbo used to say, 'It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.'"

Miroku said, "Hmm, an interesting sentiment. He's a very wise hobbit your uncle."

Frodo nodded, "Yes, he is."

Up ahead, Inuyasha said annoyingly, "I don't why he's so upset."

Kagome walked up to him and said, "Don't be mean, Inuyasha; he's not used to being away from home."

Inuyasha snorted and said, "This coming from the girl who cried like baby when she first showed up?"

Kagome suddenly stopped and when Inuyasha looked back at her, he started to grow nervous then she said, "Inuyasha, SIT BOY!"

Inuyasha plowed hard into the ground that the whole Shire could've heard it. As Frodo and Sam walked passed him while he was still stuck, Frodo whispered, "I wouldn't want to get on her bad side."

As they made their way through the forest, they realized that it was getting late and decided to set up camp near a big tree. Frodo had gotten the fire wood and was preparing to get it started when Michiru said, "I'll take care of it."

Frodo and Sam watched as Michiru held out his hand and said, "Oh flame burning bright!" Suddenly a ball of fire formed around his hand and he flung it toward the firewood.

The two hobbits were amazed by this so Frodo had to be the one to ask, "How did you do that?"

Michiru answered, "Shikigami Power; something that me and my sister inherited. It gives us control over our surroundings."

This intrigued both hobbits and they asked about it so Michiru told them how they first learned about it from Grandpa Kakuju, the usefulness it had during their journey and they even showed them the different tricks they learned when they returned home.

"Wow, that's pretty amazing." Sam said.

"Yeah and it's nice to know you two learned something new." Inuyasha said smugly; making the Kururugi twins laugh nervously.

Frodo smiled and asked, "So what can the rest of you do?"

Kagome said, "Well, I can control spiritual power. Inuyasha has a powerful sword called the Tetsusaiga, Miroku also has spiritual powers, Shippo can wield Fox Magic and Kilala can transform into a ferocious cat demon. Sango and Kohaku are ordinary demon slayers but we're glad to have them with us."

Frodo's grew fascinated by this, he never did get to ask them what they were capable of in there time at Bag End for they were still trying to adjust to being in a new world. He then asked, "Interesting, how did you all come to travel together?"

Michiru said, "Well, it's kind of a long story."

Frodo was about to persist when Inuyasha stood up and sniffed the air as his ears wiggled slightly. "There are people nearby."

They waited until they heard voices. It sounded like singing. Frodo's eyes widened and he said, "It's Wood Elves."

The hobbit then scurried off with Sam close behind him. Everyone stared at each other and then followed them. They saw the hobbits behind a bush and looked in the direction they were looking and were amazed at what they saw. A small convoy of elves, some were walking while others were sitting on horses as they walked. They were glowing with an ethereal aura and were singing a lovely song that made them all feel at peace as they watched them.

Michiru whispered to Frodo, "Those are the elves?"

Frodo replied, "Yes."

Kagome looked at them and said, "Amazing."

Inuyasha felt a strange vibe seeing them and kept his hand on the tetsusaiga in case they were spotted.

Sango said in marvel of what she was seeing, "They're so beautiful."

Miroku said, "Yes, their aura is so divine."

Suddenly Sango felt a chill run up her spine as a certain hand was touching her inappropriately. Her face grew red and she swiftly swung her hand so fast that there was a loud smack that drew the elves' attention. Suddenly everyone saw a red handprint across Miroku's left cheek and noticed that the elves spotted them. Inuyasha was about to draw the Tetsusaiga when surprisingly the elves continued walking and their singing as if they weren't even there. This left them all stumped.

Shippo then asked, "I wonder where they're all going."

Frodo was quick to answer him. "They're going to the tower beyond the white harbor, to the Grey Havens."

Inuyasha showed annoyance and asked, "How do you know that?"

Sam replied, "They're leaving Middle-Earth."

"And they're never to return." Frodo finished.

"How come?" Kagome asked.

Sam said, "We don't know why; but it makes me sad."

After watching the elves pass them by, everyone returned to the camp and started wind down. Frodo and Sam noticed Sango trying to avoid looking at Miroku and Sam asked Shippo, "Is there something wrong between lord Miroku and lady Sango?"

Shippo replied, "Nothing out of the ordinary, Miroku simply tried to touch Sango's butt and she gave him a good slap."

The hobbits eyes widened and they exasperated in unison, "He did what!?"

Shippo sat down next to Kilala and said, "Don't worry, he does that to all the pretty ladies. He even did it to Kagome and Kaname at one time. He also tries to ask them to bear his child."

Both hobbits jaws fell to the ground and practically jumped back up at this revelation and Sam asked, "How do you put up with him?"

"Oh, the girls simply beat him up for it; though most times he focuses his advances towards Sango." He replied.

"So that's not the first time she's slapped him?" Frodo asked.

Inuyasha sat down and spoke as he overheard the conversation, "Nope, and I doubt it'll be the last. Kagome seems to think that there's something going on between them, but I just can't see it. Besides, just recently Michiru confessed that he was in love with Sango so hopefully Kagome can stop trying to play matchmaker between them."

In truth Inuyasha simply didn't think that Miroku and Sango belonged, and that Kagome was simply wasting her time even trying. The moment he learned that Michiru was in love with Sango he thought it would be an interesting chemistry and merely encouraged it instead of enforcing it like Kagome.

The two hobbits shared a look and then decided to get ready for bed.

Just about everyone was under blankets, or in the modern kids' case a sleeping bag, getting ready to sleep while Inuyasha sat in a tree keeping watch. Suddenly they could hear Sam groaning as he said, "Everywhere I lay there's dirty great root sticking into my back."

Michiru snickered and muttered in his sleep, "I know what you mean; I still have a hard time getting used to it."

Frodo said, "Just shut your eyes and imagine you're back in your own bed with a soft mattress and a lovely feather pillow."

Sam adjusted himself but it was useless. The ground was too rough for his comfort. "It's not working, Mr. Frodo. I'm never gonna be able to sleep out here."

Frodo smiled in his sleep and said, "Me neither, Sam."

The next day, they all woke up and continued to make their way toward Bree. They had gotten out of the forest and were walking through a large corn field when some of the younger members were growing tired from lack of water. Michiru whispered this to Frodo and then they stopped together.

"We can stop here for now. We have all gone on for a while and I think we can all use a little rest." Frodo said.

Inuyasha groaned and complained, "Hey, if we keep stopping like this then we're never gonna make it to Bree."

Frodo said in a calm manner, "Gandalf said that he would wait for us so there's no need to rush. Besides we're still in the Shire; what could possibly happen?"

Just as he had finished his sentence, Michiru, Kaname, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango we're already sitting when two figures ran through the crop and bumped into Sango who fell over and knocked Michiru who knocked into Kaname who knocked into Miroku who knocked into Kagome like dominos.

Sango sat up to see what had bumped into her and saw the two hobbits Merry and Pippin.

"Oh, hello, Merry, it's Frodo and his friends." Pippin said cheerfully.

Merry smiled and said, "Hello, its good to see you all again. Sorry about the mess."

They all pulled themselves together and started to stare at Merry and Pippin who were gathering up carrots and cabbages.

"What's the meaning of this!?" Frodo exclaimed.

Merry handed a few cabbages to Sam and a few to Kaname and Sam exclaimed, "You've been into Farmer Maggot's crops!"

On cue, they all heard dogs barking and an older man yelling with crop tool raised in the air coming their way.

"Everybody run!" Pippin yelled as he and Merry started running again. Just about everyone followed behind as Sam and Inuyasha paused for a second and realized that Merry and Pippin had gotten them all in trouble. Sam dropped the cabbages while Inuyasha shook his and said, "Damn it. I hate running away." He then started cursing the hobbits as he started to follow them.

As they made their way through the corn field, Michiru ran beside Merry and Pippin and said, "You two better have a good excuse for stealing."

Merry said in defense, "We don't know why he's so upset. It's only a couple of carrots."

Pippin said in point-of-fact, "And some cabbages and those three bags of potatoes that we lifted last week and the mushrooms the week before."

Knowing that Pippin wasn't helping Merry said defensively, "Yes, Pippin, my point is he's clearly overreacting!"

Michiru rolled his eyes while the girls giggled at their excuses. Inuyasha managed to catch up and said, "Excuse me." He snatched a carrot from Pippin while they were running and started eating it. He then asked, "Which way are we going?"

Pippin replied, "Don't worry, we know where we're going; trust me"

They had gotten out of the crop field but Michiru came to a sudden stop at the edge of a very steep hill, the others however were less than graceful. Pippin ran into him and knocked him forward while Sango tripped over the hobbit sending them both down and the others collided into each other and while trying to grab each other they ended up pulling them and caused them all to tumble down the hill after them.

Their tumbling was short-lived but very uncomfortable as they tumbled off a small drop that landed them onto a dirt road. They all groaned in pain as they tried to regain their senses. Shippo's eyes were swirling as he laid squished under the pile of hobbits.

Pippin opened his eyes and saw a small pile of gook in front of him just inches away and said, "Oh that was close."

Merry let out a loud moan as he said, "Ow, I think I've broken something." He pulled out a carrot from underneath him and saw that it was broken in half.

Sango opened her eyes and blushed when she realized that she had fallen on top of Michiru who was also blushing. They were so close to each other that one would think that they were about to kiss. Sango got up off him and said, "Sorry about that."

"No, it's alright" He said trying to regain his composure and not make a fool of himself.

"Excuse me, but could you please get off me?" Michiru heard his sister talk from underneath him. Blushing even more out of embarrassment, Michiru tried to pull himself up off his sister when she suddenly shrieked. Miroku's hand found its way to her butt while she was on top of him and Michiru helped his sister up while she kneed him below the waist making tears stream down his face. "Stupid monk, learn to keep your hands to yourself!"

Kagome got up while giggling at the humor of their incident. Inuyasha stood up ready to finish off his carrot but saw that it was covered in dirt so he wiped it on his kimono and finished it. Kagome saw this and said, "Ew, gross."

Inuyasha said, "What? It came from the ground so I don't see what the big deal is."

Kagome replied, "But it's so insanitary."

Inuyasha simply said, "Whatever."

Sam spat the vine of a carrot out of his mouth and said sarcastically, "Trust a Brandybuck and a Took."

Merry then said, "What? That was just a detour, a shortcut."

Sam said back, "A shortcut to what?"

"Mushrooms!" Pippin said joyfully.

The three hobbits struggled to get up and made their way over to the mushrooms and started picking them. Shippo ran over to join them so he could use the mushrooms for his Fox Magic. Inuyasha got up and said, "What is it with hobbits and food?" He admitted to like food but they each had enough carrots and cabbages to last them a week and now they were picking mushrooms. "Are you guys always hungry?"

Sam replied, "Not really, our eating habits are different than normal people."

Inuyasha stared at him and asked, "What do you mean by normal people?"

Merry replied noticing Inuyasha's piercing stare, "He means big folk."

Inuyasha's slowly diminished for he thought Sam was insulting him but realized that he and his friends were big folk compared to them.

Frodo looked around to see where they were and realized that they were on a dirt road. He looked toward the others and said, "I think we should get off the road."

Shippo looked up and said, "Why? I don't see anything."

Inuyasha, stepped toward Frodo and sniffed the air. He tried to cover up his nose and then said, "He's right there's something foul heading this way."

Everyone started to grow weary when suddenly the wind blew hard down the pathway and Frodo started to panic, "Get off the road, quick!"

Michiru, Kagome and Kaname hastily grabbed the hobbits that were still picking mushrooms and they followed the others to find a suitable hiding place. They had found one, a small hollow under a tree beside the road, but not everyone would fit so the others would have to hide behind a rock to avoid being spotted.

The ones who miraculously fit had scrunched together. Michiru, Kagome, Sango and Kaname sat down as far into the hollow as they could while Kaname held Merry and Pippin on her lap, Sango held Kohaku and Kilala on her lap, Kagome held Shippo and Sam on her lap and Michiru held Frodo on his lap.

Inuyasha and Miroku ducked behind a small boulder just aways down the hill and kept their eyes and ears opened as they waited. "Damn, why do we keep on hiding? let's just fight them and be on our way."

Miroku said, "Quiet, Inuyasha."

Sooner than they thought they heard the galloping of a horse upon the road. They all felt dread as the horse stopped right to where most of them were hiding. Michiru turned his head to look through a small crack between the roots and saw black hooves that appeared to be covered in blood. This sent a chill down his spine, he tried to use the forces of nature to get a sense at who was riding it and what scared him is that he felt a big void and death emanating from the rider.

Inuyasha slightly peeked from behind the boulder and saw that the rider was covered in black robes and armor, wore a demonic sword and smelled like death. He wasn't afraid until he saw that the rider was inches away from his friends.

He slowly started to draw the Tetsusaiga when Miroku put a hand on his shoulder and whispered, "No, Inuyasha, if you attack it then you'll put everyone danger."

"If I don't then it'll kill them." Inuyasha whispered.

Miroku whispered as he peeked over the boulder, "I don't think it knows we're here."

The horseman then jumped off the horse and started approaching the tree. This turned everyone's dread into bloody terror. The horseman bent down on the edge of the hollow giving everyone a good look at him but to their great relief he didn't see any of them, he started sniffing the air similar to Inuyasha. They all held their breath in hopes that it would not notice them. However Inuyasha placed his hand on the Tetsusaiga ready to strike should it spot them while Miroku readied his staff.

Sam looked at Frodo and saw him put his hand in his pocket and take out the ring. Frodo was being tempted to put it on. Sam grabbed his left hand and snapped Frodo out of his trance; he then put the ring away.

Merry saw that the horseman's gaze had turned to the right and he instinctively tossed the bag of mushrooms to the left and the sudden impact made the horseman shriek and run off toward the bag. As soon as he was gone everyone got out of their hiding places and ran fast down the hill away from the road.

Once they reached the bottom, Merry caught his breath and said, "What was that?!"

Inuyasha looked at him and said, "I don't know but the next time I see it I'm wasting it."

Frodo ignored everyone's complaints and looked at the ring in his hand. Kagome came up to him and stared at it, remembering what Gandalf had told them about it. "Is that what drew him to us?" Frodo nodded and quickly put it away. Kagome watch as he put it away and turned her attention toward Inuyasha. Whatever that thing was it was after the ring.

About an hour past sunset they came to a stop after many hours of running to catch their breath. Pippin was the most exhausted and he asked, "What is going on?"

Merry looked at Frodo and asked, "What does that black rider want with you Frodo?"

Frodo looked at Merry and said, "That's not your concern, Merry. We have many as it is we don't any more. It's too dangerous out here."

Kagome looked at Frodo and said, "We can't just send them away now, they might get caught by that thing."

Merry replied, "Kagome's right, Frodo, me and Pip are your cousins and we've come to like your new friends here so whether you like it or not, we're going with you."

Before Frodo could protest, Sam looked over a bush and said, "Get down!"

Everyone dropped to their hands and knees and looked over the bush carefully and saw not one but two black riders. They watched as the two riders galloped down a pathway.

Frodo looked at Merry and said, "We have to get out of the Shire. We have to get to Bree."

Merry nodded and said, "Right, Bucklebury Ferry, everyone follow me."

They all got up and followed the hobbit as they sprang out of the bushes. Suddenly they were blocked by a black rider who shrieked as he saw them. They stopped and shouted directions to each other as they tried to evade the hooves of the horse. Inuyasha drew the Tetsusaiga as Sango readied her Hiraikotsu and Michiru readied his Shikigami in an effort to ward off the black rider while the others made their escape toward the ferry.

Michiru summoned his Shikigami Flame attack and hit the black rider which caused its sleeve to catch fire making it scream in pain. This made the rider back away as he tried to put it out. Michiru said, "I-I think its time for us to get to the ferry."

"You go on I'll take care this thing." Inuyasha barked.

Michiru grabbed his arm and said, "Please, Inuyasha, we have to go now!"

Inuyasha watched as the horseman kept trying to put out the flame and saw that it was almost out. "I don't know why I listen to you."

They all saw the ferry beyond a wooden gate. The three of them jumped over the structure but only two out of the three cleared it. Michiru's pant leg got hook and tripped him. As he tried to break free he muttered to himself, "I knew I should've taken track and field."

After ripping it free, he got up and ran as fast as his legs could take him as another black rider leaped over the gate and chased after him. Michiru saw this as he noticed that the ferry which couldn't hold everyone was leaving without him. The hobbits, Kagome, Kaname, Shippo and Miroku got on the ferry while Inuyasha leaped over the river landing on the other side while Sango and Kohaku rode on Kilala as she floated across.

Michiru yelled, "Don't leave without me!" He did not want to stand against these dreaded riders alone, sure his Shikigami Power had scared one of them, but he didn't have the nerve do it again fearing that he would just make them angrier. Upon reaching the edge, he jumped off the dock and overshot the ferry by foot and belly flopped into the river. Michiru swam up and was relieved when Sango extended her hand and pulled him onto Kilala. They floated away as the black rider stopped its horse on the dock and let out a piercing scream that practically broke Inuyasha's eardrums and had them covering their ears. The rider then rode off with a few of its companions as they headed north.

Frodo looked at Merry and asked, "How far to the nearest crossing?"

Merry replied, "Brandywine Bridge, twenty miles."

After making it across the river, they all started making their way northeast through the Old Forest. Michiru was getting chilly from having fallen into the river and it was starting to rain. Inuyasha took off the upper part of his red kimono and draped over his shoulders. Michiru looked at Inuyasha and Inuyasha said, "You need it more than I do; besides a little rain won't hurt me."

Michiru smiled and said, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." He replied.

Kagome saw this and couldn't help but to smile.

One could say that it was eight at night as they came to the edge of the forest and saw a tall wooden gate that had two buildings next to it. This had to be Bree. Frodo looked around and saw no one nearby and said, "Okay, come on."

They all ran out of the forest and tried shield themselves from the rain as Inuyasha walked up and tried to push the gate open. "It won't budge." He said with a strain. Kagome pushed him aside and knocked on the door. "Okay, that works too."

Soon an old man looked through a small opening in the door and when he saw Kagome he swiftly opened it. Once he opened the gate he was a little saddened that she wasn't alone. "What do you all want?"

Frodo spoke, "We're heading for the Prancing Pony."

The gatekeeper eyed them all suspiciously. He grew weary when he looked at Inuyasha and the young boy with the tail. He belived them to be a manner of elves from the ears however he was intrigued by the two-tailed cat. "Four hobbits, three ladies, two young lads, two elves, a man, and a cat. What business brings you all to Bree, are you all together?"

Frodo replied, "Yes, we are all together. We wish to stay at inn. Our business is our own."

The gatekeeper looked once again at the strange company and figured that these strange people wouldn't bring any harm to Bree if they were traveling with hobbits. "All right, all right, come on in. I meant no offense. It's my job to ask questions after nightfall. There's talk of strange folk abroad; and you are all the strangest folk I've seen as of late. You can't be too careful these days."

He stepped aside and the group quickly went through. He pointed out the route to the Prancing Pony and they made their way as quickly as possible.

* * *

**They finally made it to Bree so now they can rest easily. NOT! They find the Prancing Pony and that everything isn't as it seems.**


	5. The Mystery of Strider

Chapter 5: The Mystery of Strider

Middle-Earth: Bree

Everyone made their way up the hill into the town of Bree and followed the directions given to them by the gatekeeper the best they could. As the rain slowed down to a drizzle they began to draw the locals' attention and were given strange looks. They all did their best to ignore the looks while Inuyasha kept his hand on the Tetsusaiga in case they tried anything funny; for even though he was a stranger to them, he got a bad feeling that some of them weren't at all friendly.

They found the inn soon enough and followed Frodo inside to get out of the cold and to their great relief, Michiru's especially, the place was warm and stuffy. They could hear numerous people talking all at once to each other as they were drinking and eating. Inuyasha's group surveyed the room and felt awkward seeing their eating habits; even Michiru, Kaname and Kagome felt awkward even though they had seen things similar in their own time.

They went up and Michiru said, "Um, excuse me," to the man behind the counter.

A plump man who was wearing an apron came up to them and said, "Oh, good evening gentlemen and ladies, what might I do for you? If you're looking for an accommodation we have some hobbit-sized rooms available as well as two other rooms for the rest of your companions. You're quite fortunate to have the last rooms available. Begging your pardon, but never have I seen hobbits travel in the company of Elves and Men, Mr. uh...?"

Frodo had to think of a name to use since he couldn't use his own and then he said, "U-Underhill, my name's Underhill."

The man muttered as if he's heard it before, "Underhill, yes..."

"We're friends of Gandalf the Grey; can you tell him we've arrived?" Frodo said.

The man said, "Gandalf? Gandalf, oh yes I remember; elderly chap, big grey beard, pointy hat."

Michiru nodded and said, "Yes, that's him. Have you seen him?"

The man shook his head and replied, "I'm afraid I haven't seen him in six months."

This surprised everyone for they would have thought that he would've been here before them wondering when they'd arrive but he wasn't. Inuyasha said, "Great, just great, we traveled all this way only to find that he's not here. What a waste of time."

Kagome said in an attempt to calm him down, "Now, now, Inuyasha, he's probably running a little late."

Sam looked at Frodo and asked, "So what do we do now?"

Frodo thought about it and said, "We wait for him."

Inuyasha looked at the hobbit and said, "Yeah, well he better hurry. I'm not gonna wait around forever just for him to show up."

After that they took the rooms the man provided and he said, "Well then, we still only have two rooms available but I'll leave you to decide the arrangements. We have plenty of beds, mind you."

They were all led to their rooms by the valets and found them quite satisfying. The hobbits left their baggage in their rooms and went down to the lounge to wait for Gandalf while Inuyasha's group split the rooms up. Inuyasha, Michiru, Kohaku, and Miroku, much to his misfortune took one room while Kagome, Kaname, Sango, Shippo and Kilala took the other.

As the boys got themselves settled Michiru handed Inuyasha his kimono back as the half-demon ranted, "Man, so far this trip has gotten us nowhere and its starting to annoy me."

Miroku heard his complaint and said, "You must remain calm, Inuyasha. Gandalf will be here soon just as he said he would. He's just running a little late and you cannot rush these things."

"Yeah, and besides we did cut the time in getting here short when we had to outrun those black riders so we probably got here a little early." Michiru said hoping his friend would listen to him.

"Whatever. Also why do these people keep referring to me as an elf? You'd think they'd never seen a demon before." He said aloud.

Michiru thought about it for a minute and responded, "Hmm, maybe it's because of your hair and your ears."

"Huh?" Inuyasha said bewilderedly.

Michiru had to clarify it for his friend. "I mean, sure you have dog ears but they are kinda pointy like elf ears and the elves in the forest had bright long hair, so..."

"So it's only fitting that these people assume that Inuyasha is an elf. It would definitely be beneficial should we need to blend in." Miroku pointed out.

Inuyasha scoffed as he sat on the bed. He had been used to sleeping on the ground but even he had to admit that the bed was most comfortable and looked forward to sleeping in it.

Michiru sat down on his and saw that Kohaku was in deep thought. He had never really talked to him since he had returned to the Feudal Era and saw a chance to get caught up with him. "Kohaku, are you okay?"

Kohaku looked at him and said, "I'm fine; why do you ask?"

Michiru said, "Well, you haven't talked much and I was wondering if there was something wrong."

Kohaku responded hesitantly, "Well, it's just that... Ever since we were brought here I been remembering more about what I was like before Naraku came along and... I finally remembered what I did while I was under his control. I remember killing my father and my fellow demon slayers. I remember hurting my sister. I even remember hurting you and Kaname. Michiru, I'm so--."

Michiru knew where this was going and immediately said wholeheartedly, "Kohaku, its okay. We never blamed you for what happened and we all know how sorry you are. You don't need to blame yourself for what happened. It was all Naraku's doing and he's gone now so you don't need to feel guilty anymore, okay."

Kohaku's sign of sadness went away as he smiled at Michiru. Now he understood what his sister said about Michiru's ability to make people's pain go away. It also explained why she would blush whenever anyone mentions his name. "Thank you."

Michiru replied, "You're welcome."

Kohaku then asked nervously, "So, Michiru, if you don't mind me asking, are you really _in love_ with my sister?"

This made Michiru's face turn rose red and he responded, "Well, uh, I don't think you should be asking me that."

Kohaku remained persistent for he wished to know how this boy feels about his sister. "Why shouldn't I?"

Michiru had to say something to avoid the subject for even though he did love Sango he was still unused to talking about it especially since he believes that she still has feelings for Miroku. "Well, it's hard to understand really."

"What's there to understand?" Inuyasha said as he eavesdropped on the conversation. "You said it for all to hear as you were being teleported back home and now you're just waiting to see if she feels the same way about you."

Michiru blushed even more and grew a little frustrated, feeling that Inuyasha was deliberately trying to embarrass him he said, "Why do you keep embarrassing me, Inuyasha, is there a big sign around my neck that says 'mock me'?"

Inuyasha noticed his friend's frustration and responded, "Hey, you're embarrassing yourself for not wanting to talk about it."

Kohaku laughed behind him and said, "He's right, you know."

Michiru listened as Inuyasha and Kohaku laughed at him and saw that Miroku was giving him a strange look. He guessed it was a look of jealousy; _And who could blame him_, Michiru thought, _Sango is still technically _his_ girl_. Michiru then snapped at Inuyasha, "I don't have to listen to this! I'm going downstairs!" He then got up and slammed to door shut behind him, like a kid having a temper tantrum.

Meanwhile, after Shippo and the girls got themselves settled, Kagome fell right on top of the bed and smiled that this world actually had them. "Wow, I know _I'm_ going to sleep soundly tonight."

Kaname smiled as well and said, "Well, that makes two of us."

Sango sat on the bed and said as she inspected it, "You two actually sleep on these in your era?"

"Yeah, it's more comfortable than sleeping on the floor." Kagome responded.

"Well, if you say so." Sango said. She was still getting used to being in a completely different world and she found it surprising that some of the things here were things used in Kagome and Kaname's time; things that she had never encountered before.

"I've been wondering; what will we do when Gandalf gets here?" Shippo asked, hoping someone could provide an answer.

Kagome sat up and said, "I've been wondering that myself. I do know that he wanted us to get out of Shire because those black riders were after Frodo's ring, but how will it be safe here?"

"Yes, that thing is what drew those creatures toward us. We were lucky the one didn't spot us under the tree but what's to say that those things won't follow us here?" Sango said raising questions that none of them could answer.

Kaname knew that things looked grim and decided to change the subject, "Hey, let's not worry about it. We're here now so let's just relax and wait for Gandalf to show up."

"You said it," Shippo said as he let out a big yawn, "I'm getting tired."

The girls smiled and said, "Goodnight, Shippo."

As Shippo fell asleep, Kagome said with a giggle, "I bet the others are tired as well."

Sango smiled and said, "I know my brother is; he's not used to so much traveling."

Kagome replied, "Well I'm sure he'll get used to it soon enough."

Sango stood up and said, "Maybe but I'm gonna go and check up on him."

As she made her way to the door, Kilala jumped onto her shoulder while she left. She walked out the door and accidently bumped into Michiru. She started to blush as she said, "Oh I'm sorry, how clumsy of me."

Michiru, who had just stormed out of the room he was staying in, felt his frustration dissipate when he had bumped into Sango and said, "No, I'm sorry. I should've watched where I was going. So, where are you heading?"

Sango responded, "I was just going to check on Kohaku, he's been very quiet lately and I just wanted to make sure he was okay."

"Oh he's okay. I just talked to him and he was just, well... He was feeling guilty about the things he did and I decided to cheer him up." Michiru said sincerely.

Sango smiled and said, "Thank you. I know it's been hard on him and it means a lot to me that you helped me save him."

This made Michiru smile and soon the two teens were blushing. Michiru just loved watching her smile; she looked so beautiful that he could look at her all day and never grow tired of it. Sango said nervously to break the silence. "So, where were you heading?"

Michiru snapped out of his trance and answered, "Oh, I was heading downstairs to wait for Gandalf with the others," _Actually, I was just trying to get away from the others pestering me about my love for you_. He then asked nervously, "W-Would you like to join me?"

Sango then blushed at his question. _Is he asking me to wait with him or just to wait for Gandalf?_ She thought to herself. She decided that seeing as he took care of Kohaku for her it wouldn't hurt to simply sit with the boy who had fallen head over heels for her. _What do I do?_ Kilala sensed that she needed a good push and nudged Sango's shoulder and she said nervously, "Sure, why not?"

Michiru smiled with relief and was surprised that she said yes. It wasn't like he was asking her out on a date or anything and yet she said yes; he was pretty sure she would've said no considering that the others might jump to wrong conclusions. Together they walked downstairs to the lounge and saw Frodo, Sam and Pippin sitting at a table while Merry was at the counter getting a drink. As they approached Michiru saw Frodo with his hand on his temple.

The Kururugi asked as they sat down, "Is something wrong, Frodo?"

Frodo shook his head and replied, "Gandalf should have been here by now; what could be taking him so long?"

Sensing his distress, Michiru said, "Don't worry, he'll be here it just might take a while."

"And besides," Sango added with sincerity, "If trouble does come our way you have us to keep you safe."

Frodo nodded. "You're right, he'll be here."

Just then Merry came back to the table with a mug of ale and Pippin asked, "What's that?"

Merry said enthusiastically, "This, my friend, is a pint."

Pippin's eyes widened in delight as he asked, "It comes in pints?" Merry mumbled his confirmation as he sipped his drink and Pippin said as he stood up, "I'm getting one."

"But you have a whole half already!" Sam said to Pippin but he was already running toward the counter. Michiru and Sango couldn't help but to laugh at the hobbit's eagerness for a bigger mug of simple ale. Suddenly they noticed Sam's grim expression as he whispered to Frodo, "That fellow's done nothing but stare at you since we've arrived."

Frodo gazed in the direction Sam pointed and saw a hooded man sitting at a table in the corner smoking a pipe. The man's eyes were shadowed and his outfit was disheveled and muddy. Frodo then noticed the counterman known as Butterbur walking toward them and he asked, "Excuse me, that man in the corner, who is he?"

Butterbur looked toward the corner and quickly looked back at them and said in a low tone, "He's one of them Rangers. Dangerous folk, they are, wandering the wilds. What his right name is I've never heard, but around here, he's known as Strider." With that, Butterbur walked away.

Michiru slowly turned his head in the direction where Strider sat and eyed him suspiciously until he saw him puff the pipe which sent a small glow briefly revealing his eyes which were staring at Michiru; this made him turn his head back with a scared look on his face. Sango noticed his expression and turned her eyes toward Strider sending a death glare toward him. She didn't like that this man made Michiru scared and was determined to keep her eyes on Strider.

Suddenly they all heard Pippin say loudly at the counter, "Baggins? Sure I know a Baggins! He's over there, Frodo Baggins! He's my second cousin, once removed on his mother's side, and my fourth cousin, twice removed..."

This caught even Sango's attention as Frodo got up and ran over to the counter to stop Pippin, but he tripped and fell to the ground. As he hit the floor, they saw his hand open and the Ring flew into the air and felt sudden temptation wash over them. As Frodo tried to catch it, It some how swerved onto his index finger and suddenly Frodo vanished in the blink of an eye.

Everyone nearby gasped and started speaking to each other in hushed tones and started looking at all of Frodo's companions with obvious suspicions. They all looked at each other knowing that the situation just got complicated. Sango turned her head and noticed that Strider wasn't in his seat. She looked around and saw him pulling Frodo out from underneath a table and pushing him up the stairs.

As her eyes widened, she grabbed Michiru's arm and said, "Strider's got Frodo, I'm going after him. Go get the others, quickly!"

Michiru nodded and said to Merry, Sam and Pippin, "You three go with her and watch her back."

The hobbits nodded and followed while Michiru ran back to the rooms to get the others to help.

Sango and the hobbits rushed up the stairs, checking every room quickly but quietly, wishing to go for a more stealthy approach. If the man had locked the door behind him, she would merely use all of her strength to kick it down.

At the end of the hall in a room that had a "private parlor" sign on it, she heard voices coming from behind the door. When she heard Frodo's voice she immediately jumped at the door. As the door flung open, she unsheathed her blade hidden under her right sleeve and came face to face with a tall, dark-haired man roughly thirty years old who had his own gleaming sword that clashed against her blade.

Strider was slightly startled by her appearance and was amazed at how much strength she had put into her right arm. When he first saw her enter the inn he knew she had to be strong to carry that big bone weapon over her shoulders and noticed that she also carried a sword but the hidden blade and her strength behind it caught him off guard but luckily she didn't push her attack when she saw that Frodo was unharmed other wise he might've been killed.

"Unhand him," She said sternly, "You won't leave this inn with him."

Strider gave a slight smile and said, "I had no intentions of doing such a thing." He slowly lowered his sword as he studied her but raised it again when he heard pounding footsteps. Sango wasn't taking her eyes off of Strider a second time and readied herself but to her relief it was only the hobbits.

"Don't worry, I got it under control." She said as the hobbits eyes widened at the drawn swords.

"Let him go, Strider, or she'll cut you up." Sam said angrily. Frodo remained silent in hopes that they won't start trouble.

"Have no fear, I have no intentions of taking Frodo anywhere against his will." He said as he lowered his sword. He looked at Frodo and said, "I took you out of the common room for your own well-being, your companions antics have drawn far too much attention." Pippin turned his head away to hide the guilt while Sango started to lower her blade when they heard more footsteps. She turned and saw Michiru, Inuyasha and the others as they stared down at Strider.

"What's going on here?" Inuyasha said with his hand on his Tetsusaiga.

"So it was you, Strider." Michiru said with a more suspicious look on his face than he had the first time he looked at him, not quite so scared this time.

"Yes it is I," He replied with a semi-guilty look on his face. "And before you and your friends attempt to kill me out of hasty judgment, I ask that you hear me out."

Sango scoffed, "It's hardly hasty judgment going after a friend who has been taken by a shady scoundrel."

Strider chuckled at her comment. "Maybe, but as I said to Frodo, I mean him no harm. I was sent here upon Gandalf's request in case he was delayed in coming here. He said that if he couldn't make it that I was to help lead you out of this town."

"And why do we have to leave?" Michiru asked.

Strider looked at the boy and said, "Because the moment that the Ring slipped onto Frodo's finger, the dark lord's minions were given this location. Which means you can no longer wait for the wizard to arrive; they're coming."

Everyone understood what he was referring to and though they didn't trust him, he was right. Those black riders were seeking the Ring and were intended to claim it and would kill anyone who got in their way. Normally they would stand and fight but they couldn't risk the lives of the townsfolk. Everyone but Strider got out of the inn through the window and went across the street to a house which Strider kept in case of emergencies. They went upstairs to a big room that held six large beds, a fire place and one window to look out. It looked as if it was used as a hideout. The four hobbits settled on one bed while Sango, Kohaku and Kilala took the second and Kagome and Shippo took the third. Michiru, Miroku and Kaname took the last three and they sat and waited to see if Strider would return.

"I think this is a bad idea, trusting some guy who just tried to take Frodo because claims to know the old man." Inuyasha stated as he looked out the window.

Michiru sensed his friend's distrust and said, "I don't like it either, Inuyasha; but if he really is a friend of Gandalf then we'll need his help."

"Yeah, and besides he had Frodo for well over two minutes so if he wanted to take the Ring he would've vanished before we got to him." Sango pointed out as she looked at Frodo.

"Maybe, but I still don't trust him." Inuyasha said.

"Come on, Inuyasha, you said the same thing when Kagura agreed to help us defeat Naraku." Kaname said to the half-demon.

"Yes, but that moment was short-lived, Kaname; she said she would continue hating us afterward." Miroku stated to the Kururugi girl.

"Maybe, but we should still give Strider a chance. He just might be helpful to us since Gandalf's not here." Kaname replied earnestly.

"I doubt that." Inuyasha said aloud, believing that he was no good.

"And what makes you say that, my friend?" They turned and saw Strider walk in with their baggage in hand. After he had stuffed their beds with pillows to make it seem that they were still sleeping at the inn, Strider managed to gather all their belongings and haul them across the street and up the stairs. "Get some rest now; we need to leave at dawn before the rest of Bree awakens." He said as he sat in a wooden chair close to the window to keep an eye out.

Everyone took his advice and got into bed; everyone except Inuyasha who pulled up the remaining chair in the room and sat next to Strider and said, "Don't try anything funny, you got that?"

Strider nodded and returned his gaze outside the window.

After five minutes of sitting silently Strider said out of the blue, "Even though you have strange ears, one could say that you could pass for an elf," Inuyasha turned his head with interest into what he was saying. He heard the gatekeeper refer to him as an elf when they came to Bree and was curious as to why. "But I have seen the elves and I know that you are not. Which leaves me to ask, what are you exactly?"

Inuyasha thought about ignoring him but figured that it was all right to say something. "I'm a demon; you got a problem with that?"

Strider shook his head and replied, "Not the slightest; I just didn't realize that a demon could look almost like an elf is all."

Their brief conversation ended when they heard a huge thud down the road. They looked out the window and saw five horses bearing black riders galloping over the fallen gate and up the road toward the Prancing Pony. Upon reaching the inn, the black riders dismounted and went to the door with their swords drawn. Inuyasha and Strider kept their hands on their swords should the creatures cause trouble.

After a few moments they heard loud stabbing sounds from the inn followed by a high-pitched screaming sound that Inuyasha remembered at Bucklebury Ferry which hurt his ears. This woke the others from their sleep since they too remembered it and that it was loud enough to wake the whole town. They looked and saw Strider and Inuyasha sitting at the window.

Frodo looked out the window and then at Strider and asked, "What are they?"

Strider looked at him and said, "They were once men, great kings of men; but Sauron the Deceiver gave them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without questioning. One-by-one falling into darkness and now they are slaves to his will. They are the Nazgul, Ringwraiths. Neither living nor dead, at all times they feel the presence of the Ring drawn to the power of the one. They will never stop hunting you."

He returned his focus out the window and saw that the riders got on their horses and started to ride away. Michiru stood up and asked, "Where are they going?"

Strider replied, "They are using stealth for a reason and that reason I doubt bodes well for you and your companions. They believe that you've already left and are now returning to roads to watch out for you and catch you all off guard. Get some rest, we shall leave at dawn and avoid using the roads."

* * *

The next morning, those who could get back to sleep woke up an hour before dawn. After having a quick breakfast, they went to see Butterbur before leaving and were glad that the Ringwraiths didn't notice him when they went in. He sold them a pony named Bill and together the hobbits and Inuyasha's companions followed Strider out of Bree as the sun came up.

Two hours after leaving Bree, Strider had led them to a forest that had no roads or landmarks and Sam who grew fond of Bill the pony asked, "Where are you taking us?"

Strider replied as he pushed a bush out of the way, "Into the wild."

While he led them through the forest Inuyasha as well as the hobbits kept their eyes on Strider for the lack of trust. And who could blame them? He claimed to be a friend of Gandalf and was sent in his place to lead them out of Bree to an unknown location with nothing but his word that he would do them no harm.

Merry whispered to Frodo, "How do we know this Strider is a friend of Gandalf."

Frodo whispered back, "I think a servant of the enemy would look fairer, and feel fouler."

Inuyasha overheard them and said, "Yeah well, he's foul enough I can tell you that much."

Frodo snickered for having learned about Inuyasha strong sense of smell and said, "Maybe so, however we have no choice but to trust him."

Sam sighed at this and said, "But where is he leading us?"

"To Rivendell, Master Gamgee," They heard Strider say back to them, obvious that he could hear what they were saying; "To the house of Elrond."

Sam's face lit up and he turned to the others who followed behind and said, "Did you hear that? Rivendell, we're going to see the Elves."

Michiru's face expressed interest. Ever since they had arrived, the stories about the elves as well as the sight of them passing through the Shire fascinated him as much as his own Shikigami Power and now he felt excited that he would get a chance to meet them.

What surprised him was that Sango noticed his fascination and laughed as she said, "I bet you're looking forward to that."

Michiru started blushing and tried to avoid eye contact with everyone else as they noticed his embarrassment. Miroku saw this and narrowed his eyes slightly but managed to focus on the task at hand.

An hour later, they all came out of the forest and traveled snowy hills until the hobbits came to a stop. Strider was a few feet ahead and the others watched as the hobbits pulled out a pot and frying pan. Inuyasha muttered under his breath, "Yeah, I'd say it's about time for second breakfast."

Michiru laughed slightly and this caught Strider's attention. He turned back toward them and said, "Everyone, we do not stop until nightfall."

They all looked at him and Pippin asked, "What about breakfast?"

Strider wore a confused look as he replied, "We've already had it."

Pippin said, "We've had one, yes; what about second breakfast?"

Everyone looked at Strider as he raised his eyebrows and turned back to the direction they were heading and started walking.

Merry looked at Pippin and said as he gathered the cooking tools, "I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip."

Inuyasha said aloud, "No kidding."

Pippin looked at Inuyasha and Merry and asked, "But what about elevenses, Luncheons, afternoon tea, dinner, supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?"

Merry and Inuyasha said in unison "Wouldn't count on it."

Suddenly an apple was thrown over a bush in their direction which Merry caught it. Merry and Inuyasha looked at it and Merry handed to Pippin. Merry continued on while Pippin stood with a bewildered look on his face and then looked up into the sky, believing that it was raining apples. Another apple was thrown over the bush and accidently hit Pippin's head. This made him even more confused but he continued on when Merry called for him. Inuyasha picked up the second apple and began eating it as they all continued on.

By mid-day, they were all led to the Midgewater Marshes; to which everyone was disgusted. Strider walked through apparently used to the stench and condition of the marshes all the while Inuyasha who was carrying Kagome on his back did his best to avoid any deep spots. Though he's used to traveling barefoot, he new he was gonna have to wash his feet after this. Michiru who wore his modern shoes was getting his feet soaked from the muddy water seeping through and struggled carrying his sister without falling. Miroku, Sango and Kohaku didn't seem to be too bothered by the marsh but their moods grew sour for what Strider was putting them through. Before journeying through, Kilala had transformed into her demon form and decided to carry the hobbits and Shippo across. This surprised Strider at first but he put his amazement aside as he led them through.

Though the hobbits were spared having to walk through the marshes, they were still victims of the bugs and mosquitoes biting at their flesh. Merry who was the most irritated said aloud, "What do they eat when they can't get hobbit?"

Michiru and Inuyasha walked close together as they carried Kagome and Kaname and Inuyasha said bitterly, "Who the hell does this guy think he is dragging us through this stinking marsh like we're useless?"

Michiru responded bitterly himself, "Yeah, who died and made him king?"

Strider who had overheard their complaints couldn't help but to chuckle slightly at Michiru's particular statement. _They have no idea,_ he thought to himself.

At nightfall, they had set up camp at a patch of at a patch of grass that had little mud while Strider went in search of food with Inuyasha, who still didn't trust Strider and wasn't going to let him out of his sight.

Kohaku looked at his sister as he wiped the mud off his boots that he wore through the marshes and said, "I hope he doesn't make us have to go through that again, I don't know if I can handle it. That was more tiring than the training at Demon Slayer Village."

Sango couldn't help but to nod in agreement. Though she wasn't bothered by the marshes, the non-stop travel from Bree since dawn had made her break a sweat. She then watched as Michiru took his shoes off and laughed when muddy water dripped out of them.

Michiru had never been more irritated in his life, at least not since the time Koga accused him of being a killer. He was doing his best to resist the urge to fry Strider to a crisp for putting him through this.

Strider and Inuyasha had then returned with a fallen deer which in turn became their meal. After eating, they did their best to get some sleep in the murky swamp while Strider sat on a rock to keep watch. Though Inuyasha had fallen asleep, he would easily wake up if Strider tried anything funny. During the night however, Kaname woke up to a strange noise. She looked up and saw Strider sitting on a rock, singing in a strange yet beautiful language she had never heard before as he looked up at the moon.

All too curious she asked, "What are you singing?"

Strider quickly turned and saw Kaname looking at him; almost afraid that his singing had woken her up which surprised her. He turned his attention back at the moon and said, "I sing of the lady Luthien, the elf-maiden who gave her love to Beren, a mortal."

Kaname didn't understand so she asked, "Who are they?"

Strider replied, "Luthien is remembered as the most beautiful elf ever born and Beren who was a hero among men took her heart away."

Kaname began to understand the story but judging by the way he was singing it sounded like something tragic happened. "What happened to them?"

Strider paused and said, "Because of her love for a mortal, she gave up her immortality and... She died." Kaname a pang of sadness at this revelation and more importantly felt curious as to why someone like Strider would sing such a song but before she could think of anything else, he turned to her and said, "Get some sleep, Kaname."

With that Kaname laid back and attempted to get back to sleep. But before doing so she said to Strider, "You can't blame them for not trusting you; they're just trying to keep each other safe is all."

Strider couldn't help but to smile at her statement as she returned to her slumber.

As Kaname drifted back to sleep she thought to herself, _Maybe he's not as bad as he look..._

_

* * *

_**Hope you all enjoyed the fifth chapter! I felt it would be good for the people of Middle-Earth to think that Inuyasha was an elf. Even though they're more dog-like I kinda got that impression when I first saw Inuyasha. I also intend to amp up Michiru and Kaname's Shikigami powers to allow them to project weapons out of fire and water and stuff like that. The incantation to their Raging Flame Technique gave me that idea with the whole "sword of wrath" thing.**

**Next chapter: The Road to Rivendell.**


	6. The Road to Rivendell

Chapter 6: The Road to Rivendell

Middle-Earth: Weathertop

By the next day the mysterious Strider had led everyone out of the Midgewater Marshes which everyone was thankful for. They had covered most of it the day before and they only had a mile to travel through which took up most of the day but it went more smoothly. Everyone was walking across a grassy plain with rock chunks embedded in the earth. Following Strider, they came to a stop and saw a lone hill with a ruined stone fortress at the top. It looked as though it had been through many battles and was lucky to have survived.

Strider stared at the fortress with a look of nostalgia and said, "This was the great watchtower of Amon Sul," He then turned to the others, "We shall rest here tonight."

As they made their way up the hill, Sango spoke as she examined the condition of the fortress, "This place is ancient; did it always look like this?"

Strider responded with a touch of sadness in his voice, "No, it has seen better days. It used to be the gathering point for the men of Arnor; that is until the northern kingdom was destroyed long ago."

After climbing the hill, they found a small crevice off the side of the fortress where they would rest. The hobbits dropped their baggage and sat near Bill the pony while the others sat against the wall to catch their breath as the sun started to set.

Strider took out one of his packs and opened it revealing six swords, giving one to each of the hobbits and two to the Kururugi Twins who were very nervous holding them even though they were sheathed.

"These are for you, keep them close." He said.

Kaname said nervously, "B-But me and my brother never used swords before."

"Neither have we." Frodo said.

Strider looked toward the others and said, "I'm sure that your friends here will teach you. Stay here, I'm going to have a look around."

"Not without me, you're not;" Inuyasha said as he stood up. "You still haven't given us any reason to trust you and I'll be damned if you think I'm just gonna let you out of my sight."

Strider sighed and allowed him to go along while Sango and Kohaku helped Michiru and Kaname get over their fear and started teaching them the art of the sword. The hobbits sat to the side and watched to get a good idea of how it was done.

Kaname after getting over her fear was getting good in terms of speed whereas Michiru was getting good in terms of strength. Sango said to Michiru after he parried one of her strikes, "That's good, Michiru, but sword fighting is about more than just strength. You have to be quick if you are to defeat your enemy."

Michiru said as he took a slow but well-versed strike at Sango which she blocked, "I understand, but it feels like this sword is so heavy that I have to use all my strength just to swing it."

Kaname spoke as she quickly parried one of Kohaku's strikes, "Well there's nothing wrong with my sword," She then turned her head toward her brother and said with a big grin on her face, "Are you sure that you're not just too slow because you're practicing with Sango?"

This made Michiru lose his focus and he turned to face his sister and said, "What! That's not it!"

This distraction made Sango blush as she attempted to make another strike at Michiru and unable to stop her attack, she knocked the sword out of his hand and losing his balance he fell to the ground as Sango's blade was aimed at him. He was shocked that she managed to easily disarm him but at the same time understood that he was distracted by his sister's comment which he was ashamed of.

Kaname looked at her brother who just lost to the girl of his dreams and said playfully, "Really, then why are you flat on your butt?"

Michiru could do nothing but blush with embarrassment and everybody just sat back and laughed. Michiru looked up at Sango and noticed a serious look on her face as well as slight redness. She looked down at him and said with serious concern, "Michiru, you can't get distracted when fighting with a sword. If you let your guard down your enemies will take advantage and kill you without hesitation; do you understand?"

Michiru nodded and said in remorse, "Yes, I'm sorry."

After the moment of laughter, everyone decided to end the sword training as they realized how dark it was getting. Some decided to go to sleep while others stayed up to wait for Inuyasha and Strider to return.

As Michiru fell asleep his mind drifted back to the big events of his life. The Doll Festival where his adventures in the Feudal Era began, meeting wonderful friends, finding a girl that he loved, meeting his ancestors and now wandering a different world that is being threatened by a dark lord over a simple ring of power; _Its too bad I'll never be able to tell anyone back home about this, not that they'll believe me anyway._

Michiru was distracted from his thoughts by the smell of smoke as well as Frodo's voice who said in panic, "What are you doing?!"

This alarmed him and he quickly sat up to see Miroku, Shippo, Sam, Merry and Pippin by a small fire cooking something in a pan. Sango, Kohaku, Kagome and Kaname woke up as well to Frodo's panic.

The five around the fire looked at them and Merry said, "Tomatoes, sausages and nice crispy bacon."

Sam said politely, "We saved some for the rest of you of course."

Frodo got up and ran over to the fire yelling as he tried to put it out, "Put it out, you fools, put it out!"

Frodo kept stomping but the fire started to burn his feet and Michiru said, "Move away, Frodo!" Frodo saw Michiru summon blue orbs at his palms and moved as the boy shot out a thick stream of water which put the fire out.

As Pippin complained about ash in his tomatoes, Kagome exclaimed, "What were you all thinking, are you trying to get us all killed?!"

Michiru said, "Yeah, whose idea was it anyway?"

They stayed silent until Shippo replied in a guilty tone, "W-We were just trying to make dinner."

Michiru looked at the young fox-demon and said, "I understand, but we need to be more careful."

Suddenly their chastity ended as they heard a familiar high-pitched scream pierce the nightly air. Alarmed, they all got up and looked over the edge to see five Ringwraiths charging up the hill toward the fortress.

Realizing that they were found out, Sango said, "Everyone, up the stairs, quick!"

They all did as she said, with the exception of Bill the pony who was too scared to do so, and they ran up the stairs as they drew their weapons prepared to face these deadly creatures here and now. They found themselves at the summit of Weathertop and circled themselves around Frodo, knowing that it was him they wanted. They looked around to see small broken pillars and statues of people long forgotten but paid no heed to them as they tried to spot the Ringwraiths but beyond the edge of the fort was a fog that shrouded even the stars in the sky and they began to feel an all too familiar chill in the air.

Soon enough Michiru spotted one of the Ringwraiths through the fog and then another and soon all five were present and tried to surround them.

Michiru felt his blood run cold and his bones shake in fear; however he knew that if he backed down he would be letting his friends down. He wasn't like Inuyasha who was hardly afraid of anything but he had been through these types of situations before and no matter how foreboding these Nazgul were he wasn't backing down. Unlike her brother, Kaname was petrified beyond all reason that she was sincerely hoping she wouldn't have to face one of these things but she too stood her ground in case the worst should happen. Sango held her Hiraikotsu and her Slayer Sword ready and kept a very stern face but deep down she too felt her insides chill. She had faced many demons but these creatures were something entirely new to her and she felt helpless not knowing how to attack them. Miroku stood ready to defend himself and the others with his staff at the ready but surprisingly he started wishing that he had his wind tunnel in order to easily dispose of the creatures. Kohaku stood next to his sister ready to defend the hobbits afraid though that it would cost him his life. Kagome stood next to the hobbits with Shippo on her shoulder and her bow and an arrow ready however the fear that had kept everyone from taking immediate action had hit her too making her unable to even pull back the arrow. The hobbits stood and shivered in cold fear. Their strange new friends had seen battle but were hesitant in making a move against these creatures and together feared that they would be overwhelmed.

As the Ringwraiths appeared everyone looked at them and couldn't see faces under their hoods, it looked as if there was nothing but air. The Ringwraiths started to draw their swords and took slow menacing steps toward them ready to slaughter them all.

"Back you devils!" Sam yelled as he decided to oppose these creatures. After a few quick strokes the one Ringwraith used its free hand to knock the brave hobbit into the wall rendering him dazed.

This made Michiru's fear fade and he immediately attempted to face these creatures. Oddly though he noticed that five out of nine Ringwraiths were here and out of these five four had similar looking swords whereas the one in the middle had a more kingly like sword that shined even in the darkness. He figured that that was the leader of these creatures and decided to attack him. Though he had only just started using a sword and was still afraid of using such a sharp weapon, he held it tightly and attempted to fight off the ringleader as Kilala transformed and decided to help him. The Ringwraith found him and the strange creature to be more difficult opponents than their hobbit friends but it could tell that the boy was a beginner and simply parried his attacks waiting to find an opening as it maintained its distance from the cat demon.

Sango and Kohaku then attacked a second Ringwraith while Miroku countered a third one however the other two approached Kaname, Kagome, Shippo and the other three hobbits.

Kaname raised her sword and parried the one Ringwraith while the other made its way toward Kagome.

Kagome pulled back the arrow and fired at the Ringwraith. The Ringwraith took it in the shoulder believing that an ordinary arrow wouldn't hurt until the purification power punctured a hole through its left shoulder causing it to scream in agony never feeling such power before. Briefly stunned by her attack, Kagome pulled out another arrow and prepared to fire it at the Ringwraith's head, _Hit the Mark!_

Suddenly before she could release it the other Ringwraith had already disarmed Kaname and sliced at her right arm making her drop to the ground in pain as blood dripped. It then moved swiftly and knocked Kagome out against the wall as her bow and arrow dropped to the ground.

Shippo saw that he was the only one left to defend the hobbits and as the Ringwraith looked at him Shippo felt like his worst nightmares had come to life in the form of this scary, faceless creature. His friends were occupied in keeping the other Ringwraiths away and he knew that the three hobbits wouldn't stand chance. Struggling for ideas, he stood his ground and said as he took out his favorite toy, "Smashing Top!"

As he unleashed his attack the magic top grew large and spun itself toward the Ringwraith. The Ringwraith showed little sign of surprise right before he sliced through the enlarged toy and broke it in half causing magic to fade and the top to return to it natural size in pieces. This made Shippo freeze with sadness and fear as the Ringwraith walked toward him and the hobbits. Merry and Pippin saw how scared Shippo was and tried to block Sauron's servant but were shoved to the side.

Shippo looked defeated so the Ringwraith ignored him and looked toward Frodo who dropped his sword and tripped as he tried to flee. He began to hear something speak within his mind and unconsciously he pulled the Ring out of his pocket. Though he knew he should not use it, he couldn't help himself. He looked at his friends and saw the head Ringwraith knock Michiru's sword out of his hand and knock him to the ground ready to slay him as Sango saw this and yelled "No!"

Kilala had then bit into the Ringwraith's shoulder causing it to grunt in pain until it sent its armor plated fist into the cat demon's face sending her into a stone column making her transform back in pain but surprisingly the Ringwraith's attention didn't return to Michiru and instead he looked at the Ring in Frodo's hand. The Ringwraith left Michiru and made its way toward Frodo as it drew a dagger from its belt. Out of desperation, Frodo unconsciously put the ring on and disappeared from the human eye.

Meanwhile moments earlier...

Strider and Inuyasha were walking through the edge of the nearby forest searching for any signs of recent activity. With one lit torch in hand Strider kneeled down and traced the marks in the ground. Inuyasha stood close by as he started to sniff the air and said, "Those things are nearby."

Strider looked up at him and said, "The Nazgul, how can you tell?"

"I never forget a scent," He said as he drew his Tetsusaiga taking Strider by surprise at the sight of it. "And theirs is all over the place."

Strider stood up and said, "I'm amazed that you have a heightened sense of smell. Can you tell where they are?"

"Only that they're nearby." He replied giving Strider the reason to draw his sword and soon they saw four Ringwraiths on horseback upon the nearby road, but they didn't appear to take heed of them.

Strider took a moment to think as Inuyasha prepared to attack them; he put his arm in front of him and said, "Wait, Inuyasha, there seems to be only four of them. It looks as if they're trying to lure us to them."

Inuyasha stopped himself and realized that it did look suspicious. He looked at the ranger and said, "Lure us to where?" Soon they both heard a high-pitched scream that was farther away and in the opposite direction.

"Not to but from, they lured us away from the camp; we must hurry before it's too late!"

In Inuyasha's mind he suspected that Strider had purposely led him away while the Ringwraiths attempted to attack his friends but he put that thought aside as he and Strider ran back toward Weathertop. To Inuyasha's surprise Strider even though he was a mere human, was fast enough to keep up with his demon speed.

By the time they reached the base of the hill, they heard a second high-pitched scream from the top as well as clashing swords. As they made their way up the windy path to the summit of Amon Sul, Inuyasha could smell Kaname's blood and heard Shippo use his Smashing Top and knew that if Shippo was fighting then things were seriously looking bad for the others which pushed him to run faster.

As they reached the top both of them saw Miroku, Sango and Kohaku fending off two Ringwraiths but felt overwhelming anger as they saw Michiru looking for his sword with a big bruise on his face, Kilala curled up in pain, Kaname on the ground with a red gash on her right arm apparently losing consciousness from blood loss. What fueled Inuyasha's anger even more was seeing Kagome unconscious against the wall, Shippo was frozen in fear and three of the hobbits were incapacitated with no sign of Frodo.

But Inuyasha's nose told him that the hobbit was in the corner where three of the Ringwraiths gathered. He figured that Frodo had put on the ring in an effort to disappear but from what he sensed the one Ringwraith holding a dagger stabbed the invisible hobbit in the shoulder.

Without waiting second longer he and Strider jumped into the fray and prevented the Nazgul from doing anymore harm to the hobbit. Inuyasha swung his Tetsusaiga at the Ringwraith with a hole in its shoulder trying to knock away its sword and slice it up paying no heed to their piercing screams that made his ears and his head ache while Strider used both his sword and the torch to fight them back.

Inuyasha looked around to make sure that all the Ringwraiths were being dealt with and soon saw Frodo take the ring off and scream in pain. He then saw Strider use his torch to light the one Ringwraith on fire making it scream in agony and run off. He remembered Michiru doing the same thing at Bucklebury Ferry which made the Nazgul go crazy and he yelled to his dazed friend, "Hey, Michiru, these things hate fire! Use your Shikigami!"

Michiru registered this as he saw one of the Ringwraiths coming straight toward him; knowing that he couldn't waste more time looking for his lost sword, he stood up and prepared to summon his Shikigami when suddenly an idea popped in his head. He quickly poured his power into using this new technique as the Ringwraith neared him. "Oh, flame burning bright, form a sword of power, Flaming Sword!"

Michiru summoned red spheres that formed a sword of fire in his right hand and used it to block the Ringwraiths strike. What surprised him was how strong the mystical flaming sword was compared to the steel blade that the Nazgul carried. Michiru put all of his physical strength into it and managed to push the Ringwraith away as he parried a few more strikes made by the Ringwraith, then the flaming sword changed back to the red sphere around his hand. He then launched a wave of fire balls from both hands at the Ringwraith making it scream and run off.

He then looked and saw that Sango, Miroku and Kohaku were pushing back another Ringwraith and yelled, "Get down!"

Michiru sent another wave of fire balls at the Ringwraith and they managed to distance themselves as the creature was set ablaze making it flee in agony. He looked and saw Inuyasha chase away the one with the hole in its shoulder with his fierce strikes. Together they saw one Ringwraith left making its way back toward Frodo until it saw Strider quickly throw his torch into its face which set it more ablaze than the others and caused it to run off screaming.

After checking to see that all the Ringwraiths had fled Strider heard Sam call for him while Michiru ran over to his injured sister whose face was pale from the loss of blood. Inuyasha had ran over to Kagome, Sango was taking care of Kilala and Strider was with Shippo and the hobbits helping Frodo so he conjured up some of his Shikigami power and used his Great River Blessing to heal her. The bleeding had stopped but the loss of blood took its toll on her and he could only hope that she would fully recover.

He cradled his sister as he saw Strider hold a dagger in his hand and watched as the blade disappeared leaving only the hilt. Strider said, "Frodo's been stabbed by a Morgul-blade."

Sango asked with concern, "Is that bad?"

Strider replied, "A Morgul-blade is no ordinary blade, it was dipped in Morgul-poison."

"Can you help him, Strider?" Sam said worriedly.

Strider shook his head and said as he picked up Frodo, "Morgul- poison is beyond my skill to heal, he needs elvish medicine."

"What about my sister?" Michiru asked with deep concern.

"I will see to her when I have the chance," Strider replied, "but we must reach Rivendell quickly if we are to save them. Let's go, hurry!"

Strider carried Frodo while Michiru and Sango helped Kaname and Inuyasha carried Kagome.

They all made their way through the woods with Kaname sitting on the transformed Kilala, Kagome sitting on Bill the Pony as the swelling on her head healed up, and Strider carrying Frodo as he led them all through the woods toward Rivendell. Michiru began to believe that Strider was the only one who could help Kaname and banished all of his disdained thoughts about him as he continued to check on his sister. He had made a promise to his parents that he would keep Kaname safe and now here she was injured and he felt completely helpless.

Sango noticed this and she said to him, "She'll pull through, Michiru."

"I hope so." He replied.

Strider said to them all, "Hurry!"

Sam said, "We're six days from Rivendell. We'll never make it there in time to save them."

"Don't you dare say that, we're gonna make it!" Inuyasha said to the hobbit as they pushed themselves faster through the woods. He muttered silently under his breath, "We have to make it."

* * *

After three days of traveling, they had all made it to the Trollshaws, a forest area near the mountains. Most of the members were extremely tired from the non-stop traveling but they had cut the time to Rivendell in half and were only one day away, however they feared that their injured companions wouldn't last much longer and they were forced to rest to regain their strength. Kagome had awoken the day after the ambush on Weathertop with a minor swelling on her head and was able to walk with a slight concussion. Kaname's condition hadn't changed; she was paler than a corpse even with her arm bandaged up. Frodo's condition had begun to worsen as his green eyes started to turn blue and he felt cold under three warm blankets.

At night when his eyes opened up he saw stone statues of huge, nasty-looking creatures hovering over however he was unaware of the world around him. Sam had checked on him and said, "Look, Frodo, its Mr. Bilbo's trolls."

Frodo said nothing as he felt the pain in his wounded shoulder increase which made him cry in pain.

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam said as he felt his cheek. He turned to Strider and the others and said, "He's growing cold."

The hobbits gathered near Frodo as the others stood near Kaname who was fading out fast as Strider checked her wound. Strider was amazed by her brother's healing powers but as powerful as it was it wasn't enough to keep her from suffering the inflicted pain. He then got up and went to check on Frodo and noticed that the poison around his wound was spreading. Strider feared that Frodo's chances of survival were less than Kaname's.

Pippin looked at Strider with a look of fear and asked, "Is he going to die?"

Strider responded, "He's passing into the Shadow Realm. He'll soon become a wraith like them."

This news didn't appeal to any of them. Michiru asked out of desperation, "Will Kaname be okay?"

Strider looked at the frightened boy and said, "Fortunately Kaname wasn't poisoned, but she has lost a lot of blood. She'll be lucky to stay alive until we reach Rivendell."

Suddenly they heard the screaming noise of the Nazgul nearby.

"They're close." Merry said with a look of horror.

"Sam, do you know the Athelas plant?" Strider asked.

"Athelas?"

"Kingsfoil."

"Kingsfoil, aye. That's a weed." Sam said, slightly curious as to what Strider was pointing at.

"It may be able to help slow the poison, hurry!" Strider said as he handed the hobbit a torch and they got up and started searching for the herb.

Inuyasha watched as the two took off and as much as he was intending to keep his eye on Strider he felt he should stay near his friends. Finally making a decision he said, "Miroku go with them and make sure they come back."

Miroku responded, "Right, I'm on it."

As the monk got up to follow them, Inuyasha looked at the unconscious Kaname and couldn't stand seeing her like this. She was as young and innocent as her brother, a boy who he could call his close friend; now seeing her like this and seeing his friend emotionally hurt made him angry to the point of near insanity.

He looked and saw Sango looking at Kaname but more importantly he noticed her stealing concerned glances at Michiru. Seeing him hurt like this and his sister on the verge of death was tearing her apart. He began to see that she really cared for Michiru and that she wanted to comfort him at this very moment but was holding it back the best she could.

Inuyasha looked over at Kagome who was cradling the saddened Shippo who was moping over his broken top. He couldn't entirely blame the little fox demon. The smashing top was his best attack and seeing it broken reminded Inuyasha of the time when his Tetsusaiga was broken in half.

He then looked over and saw Kohaku, Merry and Pippin looking over Frodo who appeared to be in great pain. He then noticed that the look on the hobbit's face was the same as Michiru when he nearly died at the hands of Utsugi from the soul infusion. He hoped that the poor hobbit would get through this.

While Miroku went to keep an eye on Sam and Strider, the monk noticed a beautiful woman come out from behind a bush. She was dressed in a battle dress and held a long broad sword. But what surprised Miroku was that she was glowing with an ethereal aura and had pointed-ears. The monk felt utter tranquility until he noticed her draw her sword and hold it at Strider's neck. He heard her say, "What's this, a ranger caught off his guard?"

Miroku had to stop her before something bad happened. Strider was still a mystery to him and his companions but he was their only chance of saving Frodo and Kaname. He silently approached as the female warrior and managed to slip his hand onto her backside which took her off guard as she winced from the sudden violation of her personal space and Miroku seized his chance and used his staff to trip her and pin her down.

He smiled at the position he was in and said, "My apologies, miss, but I'm afraid I can't allow you to harm my friend. However I would like to ask you something: would you please do me the honor of having my children?"

The female warrior underneath him blushed in bewilderment at the strange man's request and soon Strider was up on his feet with a hand on Miroku's shoulder as he said, "It's okay, lord Miroku, she doesn't mean us any harm; however if you don't get off of her now she might consider slitting your throat."

Listening to Strider's words, Miroku got up off her and helped her up saying, "My sincerest apologies for the misunderstanding."

The female warrior looked at him with sincerity and said, "Your apology is accepted but I'm afraid your offer to bear your children is rejected."

Miroku let out a sigh and said, "Such a shame."

Strider looked at Miroku and said, "My friend, this is Lady Arwen, daughter of Lord Elrond of Rivendell."

Miroku gave a bow and said, "It is an honor to meet you milady."

As Sam returned with a few of the Kingsfoil weeds, the four made their way back to the others.

After returning, Strider applied the Kingsfoil to Frodo's wound as Arwen said, "He's fading. He's not going to last. We must get him to my father."

As Strider picked Frodo up and carried him to Arwen's horse, Arwen went over to check on Kaname and said, "She's lost too much blood. We need to get her to Rivendell fast."

Michiru nodded and said, "I've used as much of my magic as possible and yet she won't wake up."

Arwen replied, "You've done all you could but she'll need elvish medicine to relieve the pain. We must hurry."

Sango said as Kilala transformed behind her, "Kilala and I will go with you."

"Me too, she's my sister and I promised I'd keep her safe." Michiru added.

As Michiru and Sango helped Kaname onto Kilala, Arwen approached Strider and said, "I've been looking for you and your companions for two days, though I did not realize that there would be so many. There are five wraiths behind you, where the other four are I do not know."

Strider looked at Arwen and spoke to her in a different language that the others didn't understand. Inuyasha looked at Sam and asked, "What are they saying?"

Sam replied, "I don't know, they're speaking in elvish."

At the end of their conversation Arwen got onto her horse with Frodo as Strider said, "Arwen, ride hard and don't look back," He then looked at Michiru and Sango as they climbed on Kilala, "She will lead you to Rivendell; we'll follow behind you."

With that, Arwen, Sango and Michiru were off on their mounts as they made their way to Rivendell with great haste.

"What are you doing?! Those wraiths are still out there!" Sam exclaimed at Strider.

Inuyasha responded, "Don't worry, Michiru and Sango can handle themselves."

While Strider led the rest of the gang on foot toward Rivendell, The sun rose as Arwen held onto Frodo while her horse galloped across the grassy plains. Kilala carried Michiru, Kaname and Sango as she flew behind the Elf-maiden who seemed marveled by the Cat-demon and her riders. Soon they neared the forest close to Rivendell, five black horses appeared bearing the Nazgul. They had shaken off they injuries dealt to them at Weathertop except for the one with the hole still in its shoulder and together they rode close to Arwen in an effort to snatch Frodo.

Michiru watched them gallop after the elf-maiden and injured hobbit, his heart was filled with anger toward these cruel creatures that had harmed his sister and were so intent to slay Frodo and take that which he carried. Michiru summoned his red Shikigami and he shouted, "Oh, no you don't! Shikigami Attack!"

The angry boy then sent fire balls at the mounted creatures which caused them to separate but not retreat from their target. Most of his shots were off and simply hit the ground with a _BOOM_ but he did graze a few as he launched at ones that zigged when they should have zagged.

Soon they had reached the forest and Michiru stopped blasting and said, "Pull up!"

Sango nodded and said, "You heard him, Kilala."

Kilala flew over the forest and they watched as the Ringwraiths gained on Arwen and Frodo however she managed to maneuver them around the trees to slow them down which led to her getting scratched on the cheek by a branch. Michiru refrained from blasting any more fire balls, not wanting to set the forest on fire.

Soon enough Arwen came out of the forest and crossed a shallow river as the Ringwraiths stayed on the one side. Kilala flew to the other side and landed next to the Elf-maiden's horse as everyone stared down the Ringwraiths hatefully.

The Ringwraith that led the rest looked at the Elf-maiden and said in a rather nasty, otherworldly tone, "Give up the Halfling, She-elf!"

Arwen simply drew her sword, raised it high and said, "If you want him, come and claim him!"

Her statement made Sango ready her Hiraikotsu and Michiru summon his Shikigami as the Ringwraiths drew their swords ready to take up her offer.

The Ringwraiths began to charge across the river Bruinen, Michiru and Sango then heard Arwen speak an incantation in elvish and noticed the water run faster than normal and soon a huge wave flowed from up the stream toward the Nazgul as it formed into a herd of steeds charging towards them. The Ringwraiths turned their horses and attempted to outrun the wave but ended up being washed away downstream.

Michiru and Sango stared in awe at what just happened. After sighing with relief they heard Frodo cry out in pain which got them all worried. Soon Kaname stirred as she tried to say something but it came out gibberish.

Arwen used her ethereal powers to keep him alive as she willed him to not give in while Michiru used his Shikigami to keep Kaname from slipping away. She then turned to them and said, "We are close now, we have to hurry."

Those words were the last thing that Frodo and Kaname heard as they had both slipped away, unaware of the world around them.

* * *

**It took me a while to get it done but here it is. Everyone is attack and both Frodo and Kaname are greatly injured and could be on the verge of death. Some may think that Michiru should have completely healed Kaname and probably Frodo but I kinda figured that it only increases their ability to heal and doesn't simply erase the injury all together.**

**Next chapter: The Power of the Elves**


	7. The Power of the Elves

Chapter 7: The Power of the Elves

Middle-Earth: Rivendell

Kaname felt herself slipping away from the world of the living and all she could think about was what led to this. She had just been an ordinary school girl living with her twin brother and her parents at their family shrine until that fateful day when she and brother were pulled into Feudal Japan. As baffled as she and her brother were at the time, Michiru didn't seem to be as hesitant and unsure himself as he used to be but Kaname still remained the same. Sure she had the same powers as her brother and they shared the same adventures but deep down she wondered if she was even meant to take them. Their father had asked Michiru to go to the storage shed and Kaname just went along to help and it was Michiru who was more determined to return to the Feudal Era. She wondered if she was nothing more than a tag-along.

She saw bright light all around her and suddenly she heard a voice speak inside her head, saying something to her in an unknown language. Though she couldn't understand it she could tell that the voice was trying to guide her away from the darkness.

"Where am I? Am I dead?"

"No, not yet at least. You are safe in Rivendell, child." Another voice replied.

Feeling relief Kaname began to open her eyes and saw a grown man with long hair and pointed ears dressed in royal attire. Kaname asked, "Who are you?"

The man replied, "I am Lord Elrond of Rivendell, and I must say that for someone as young as you, you're most fortunate to have survived a wound such as that and live to tell about it."

Kaname looked and saw that she was dressed in a beautifully woven gold dress. She pulled up the sleeve and looked at her bandaged forearm. It still hurt a bit but she didn't feel nauseous about it. She then noticed someone sitting next to her bed. It was her brother and he too was dressed in a long-sleeve blue elvish attire. He was asleep with his head right next to her.

Lord Elrond said, "Your brother has hardly left your side since you've arrived, as well as your dog-eared friend."

This news took Kaname by surprise and she began to blush as she pictured Inuyasha standing against the wall watching her while Michiru sat next to her.

She looked at Elrond and asked, "Where is everyone? Are they alright?"

"They're safe, and they'll be glad to hear that you've awoken." He replied.

"What about Frodo, I remember that he had gotten hurt?"

"Me and my best healers are still attempting to save Frodo but its too early to tell whether or not he will live through this. But do not despair, we will do all that we can to save him."

Kaname smiled and said, "Thank you, Lord Elrond."

"You are very welcome; now if you'll excuse me, I must see how Frodo's doing."

As Lord Elrond walked out of the room, Kaname shook her brother lightly and he stirred awake. He looked up and and was glad to see his sister awake.

"Kaname! You're awake!"

He then sat up and hugged her tightly.

"Uh, bro... can't... breathe..." She gasped.

Realizing that he was squeezing her, he let go and said as he blushed with embarrassment, "Oops, sorry. I was just so worried."

"Its okay, so I hear that Frodo's still hurt."

Michiru nodded, "Lord Elrond is doing all he can to help him, I even tried using my Shikigami but it did very little to help him."

"Yeah, you'd think that as powerful as we are that we could just heal the injury altogether."

Michiru replied, "I guess our healing powers have their limits."

Kaname smiled at the fact that they weren't as powerful as they should be. They came a long way and learned so many Shikigami Techniques and yet they were still not very strong. She then looked at her brother and said, "By the way, nice attire you got on, bro."

Michiru smiled and said, "Lord Elrond offered us elvish clothing and I didn't want to be rude."

Kaname giggled and replied, "That, and you've always had a thing for blue."

Michiru said, "What can I say? Its my favorite color." He then remembered something that Kaname should hear. "Oh and you should know that Gandalf is here."

Kaname's eyes widened and she asked, "Gandalf?! He's here? Why wasn't he in Bree?"

"Apparently, he was being held prisoner, but he wouldn't go into it. Saying he only wished to explain it once." Michiru explained to Kaname.

*** * ***

Inuyasha was making his way through Rivendell trying to take his mind off of Kaname, but he just couldn't. Fortunately they had gotten her there quick enough to save her and she was merely resting and yet his mind always wandered to her. He remembered how this always happened whenever Kikyo or Kagome got hurt and that he would always rush to there aid to protect them because he cared about them. He knew that he cared about Kaname given that she's his best friend's sister, but he began to wonder if there was more to it than that.

_I doubt it would work out, both Kagome and Michiru will probably flip._

As he was sorting his feelings together, he sensed someone approaching him from behind. He turned and saw Kagome dressed in a beautiful green dress woven by the elves. She appeared with a distressed look in her eyes, she was obviously concerned about his constant pacing.

"Hey." Inuyasha greeted her.

"You're still worried about Kaname, aren't you?" She asked plainly.

Inuyasha grunted and replied, "What does it matter? She's just resting, she'll be up in no time."

"Inuyasha, I'm not stupid. I can tell that you care about her, especially given that she's in love with you..." Kagome stopped herself, feeling awkward bringing up the "L" word over the situation between Inuyasha and Kaname.

Inuyasha winced at the mention of it and said, "I-I don't know what talking about."

"Yes you do. Ever since Kaname told you that she loved you, you've been acting like its no big deal. Now she's been injured and you're trying to take your mind off of her. Its obvious that you care about her and yet you act like you don't," Kagome said. "I care about Kaname too, she's my best friend who I feel understands my problems back home. But she doesn't know what its like to care about someone who doesn't care about you. If you keep acting like this, then she'll be heartbroken. So stop pretending that you don't care when deep down you really do."

Inuyasha was taken back by Kagome's statement, but she was right, he was concerned about Kaname and yet he was denying it which wasn't doing him or her any good.

"She's not like you or Kikyo, she's different, she's... special." Inuyasha said hesitantly.

Stunned, Kagome just had to ask, "D-Do you love her?"

After about a minute, Inuyasha replied, "I don't know."

Kagome sighed and said, "But you do care about her?"

"Yeah."

Kagome put on a small smile and asked, "Was it so hard to say?"

Inuyasha snickered and said, "I guess not."

Before either of them could say anything else, they both heard Shippo scamper over to them as he said, "Hey, you two, Kaname's awake!"

As Shippo hurried ahead of them, the two looked at each other. Kagome smiled as Inuyasha simply said, "Thanks."

Kagome nodded and she replied, "Let's go see how she's doing."

*** * ***

The news of Kaname's awakening reached everyone and soon they all gathered around her bedside expressing their concern.

"Don't scare us like that again."

"You sure gave us quite a scare."

"Are you sure you're all right?"

Soon Kaname started to feel crowded and she said, "Everyone, I'm fine! Just please stop crowding me."

"She's right," A voice said. They all turned and saw Strider standing in the doorway. "You shouldn't crowd someone whose only just recovering."

Michiru stood up and said, "Thank you, Strider. If it weren't for you my sister wouldn't be here right now."

Strider smiled and said, "You're welcome, Michiru."

Shortly after everyone started to give Kaname her space, Michiru walked onto a terrace and was joined by Sango who was wearing a beautifully woven red dress which made Michiru stare in awe the first time he saw her in it. "I'm glad your sister's okay. I can tell that it was hard for you to endure seeing her like that."

Michiru nodded and said, "I made a promise to my parents that I would protect Kaname during our travels. I felt so helpless when I could heal her."

Sango placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "You did what you could and she's fine now so there's no need worry about it."

Michiru smiled at Sango's comforting words. "Thank you, Sango."

She smiled and replied, "Hey, what are friends for?"

As she walked away, Michiru thought about what she said and could only express slight sadness. _I just wish we could be more than that._

*** * ***

Two days later, Frodo had awoken from his long sleep; with the help of Elrond's healers as well as some assistance from Michiru and Kaname, the hobbit was still among the living. Later that afternoon, a large group gathered in Elrond's study. The group consisted of Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo, Miroku, Sango, Kilala, Kohaku, Michiru, Kaname, Gandalf, Frodo, Bilbo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Strider, Arwen, and Lord Elrond. Michiru and Kaname were the last to arrive as Lord Elrond spoke, "Michiru, Kaname, thank you for joining us." He then turned to Gandalf and said, "You told me some of our new arrivals here would be of great importance to us."

Gandalf nodded and said, "Yes, but I did not tell you all, that is for them to tell."

Miroku looked at the wizard and said, "But Gandalf, didn't you tell us not to speak of our place of origin?"

"You are among friends, Master Miroku; you may tell only those who are standing in this room." Gandalf replied.

With that said, Inuyasha's group took an hour and told them everything which started with the creation of the Shikon Jewel, the birth of Naraku and the tragedy of Inuyasha and Kikyo fifty years earlier; to the day Kagome fell down the well to five-hundred years into the past, the shattering of the Sacred Jewel and the quest to find all the pieces; which led to the gathering of Shippo, Miroku, Kilala, Sango and Kohaku, the surprise encounter with Michiru and Kaname which led to the destruction of Naraku and finally their arrival in Middle-Earth.

Everyone who was listening was without a doubt stunned even those who already knew. Sam said in astonishment, "Wow, so you all come from a completely different world? I never would have guessed that."

Arwen smiled at Sam's statement and said, "It certainly explains your special abilities."

"Not to mention their mannerisms." Strider added.

Inuyasha heard Strider's comment and said, "Hey, I still have no problem with slicing you to bits, pal!"

Strider raised an eyebrow as Michiru tried to calm his friend down. Gandalf sensed that he was going to cause trouble and he said, "Inuyasha, sit!"

As expected, nothing happened. Everyone but Inuyasha's group was surprised and Kagome started laughing and said, "I'm sorry, Gandalf; but Inuyasha doesn't sit--," _CRASH!_ "--Unless I tell him to."

After Inuyasha hit the floor, everyone broke into a big laugh; even Lord Elrond found it comical.

As everyone was dismissed, Lord Elrond said to Michiru and Kaname, "Wait you two, Gandalf and I would like to have a word with you in private."

Michiru looked toward the others and Sango told him, "Go ahead, we'll be waiting you for you."

Michru smiled and nodded. But what they didn't know was that Arwen had seen the look in their eyes. Being an elf with keen eyes, she could tell that Michiru and Sango had feelings for each other.

Michiru and Kaname entered and then Gandalf spoke, "I have told Lord Elrond that your powers had warded off the Ringwraiths you encountered."

Elrond added, "Yes, and I must admit that I was impressed by your unique talents, and yet I can't help but to notice that both of you haven't reached your fullest potential."

The twins nodded and Gandalf said, "You've learned to use your basic techniques and yet with what happened with Frodo, you don't feel as strong as you should be."

"Which is why we've agreed to help you. You see the elves possess the ability to call upon the ancient spirits of Earth, Fire, Air and Water; which is in relation to your Shikigami Powers. We've agreed that while you remain here, we will help you master your abilities to their fullest potential."

Kaname asked, "So you can help us learn new techniques and abilities?"

"Yes, in fact we might even teach you a few things that very few mortals are graced to learn."

Astonished, Michiru said, "Thank you, this would be very helpful to us."

*** * ***

After being dismissed from Elrond's study, Michiru and Kaname made their way back their rooms. Along the way however, Michiru came to a door to a gallery where a man walked out of with a disdained look on his face. Michiru watched the man leave and then peeked inside. He saw Strider and Lady Arwen standing near an altar looking at each other. He heard Arwen speak to him, "Why do you fear the past? You are Isildur's heir, not Isildur himself. You are not bound to his fate."

Though Michiru never was one for eavesdropping given with what happened at Bag-End was his first time, he was curious as to what they were talking about.

Strider shook his head with a fearful look and replied, "But the same blood flows through my veins, the same weakness."

Michiru was slightly confused but he gathered that whoever this Isildur was, Strider is obviously a descendant and fears that he will succumb to the same fate as Isildur, and judging by his expression it wasn't a good fate.

Arwen approached him and said, "Your time will come, you will face the same evil and you will defeat it."

She then started speaking is what Michiru assumed was elvish, but what surprised him was that she spoke a tender, caring manner. They then started to walk toward the entrance and Michiru quickly hid behind a bush as they walked by.

*** * ***

They made their way toward a stone bridge overlooking a river. Michiru quietly followed behind and hid behind a stone column a small distance away. Not too close to be spotted but close enough to listen in. He heard Arwen ask Strider something in elvish. To his surprise, Strider responded in elvish. Michiru peeked out and looked at them as they spoke. He saw them look into each others eyes deeply and then it hit him, Strider was in love with Lady Arwen. The way she spoke to him, the way he looked at her, it was all too obvious. Michiru began to feel slightly envious at how they were together. Strider was a man who looked dangerous at first sight and Arwen was the daughter of a mighty elf lord; and yet they were together. He wondered if he would ever be with Sango despite how she felt about Miroku.

Michiru then heard Strider speak in the common language, "You said you bind yourself to me, forsaking the immortal life of your people."

Michiru was slightly surprised to hear that elves were immortal and the fact she was and he wasn't, he understood how hard it would be for them to be together.

Arwen then said, "And to that I hold, I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone."

He saw Arwen give Strider something, it was a silver-white necklace that glimmered brightly.

"I choose a mortal life." Arwen said.

Strider looked at her fearfully and said, "You cannot give me this."

"It is mine to give to whom I will, like my heart." And with that the two shared a blissful kiss that made Michiru blush.

"Its so romantic." A voice said right behind Michiru. He turned quickly and was faced with Sango.

Feeling ashamed for his eavesdropping on two people in love, Michiru stammered, "S-Sango, h-how long have you been s-standing there?"

Sango smiled and said, "Since you started following them." Michiru gulped nervously and as he was about to run away, Sango placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "Don't worry, this will just be between us."

Michiru sighed in relief and said, "Sango, I was just..."

Sango stopped him and said, "You don't need to explain. Its quite obvious that you were curious. Probably wondering if you'll be with someone like that."

"Sango, I..." He said as he looked into her eyes. As Sango looked into his, she blushed as she saw his feelings for her and despite her own shyness, she found herself leaning toward him. Michiru sensed what was happening and found himself inching toward her as well.

It was pretty obvious that they were about to share their first kiss but before they could, they heard Strider and Arwen gasp at the sight of them as they rounded the corner to which the two backed away and blushed.

Michiru said nervously, "W-Well, we're just gonna head back to our rooms, goodnight!"

With that the two ran off hoping that they weren't followed. Arwen simply smiled as the two young lovebirds fled.

* * *

**I'm sorry for the long delay, I've had a hell of a time putting in certain parts and taking some parts out but here you go. I figured I'd have Gandalf be like a mentor to Michiru and Kaname in regards to magic skills. Also Inuyasha's starting to head more towards Kaname and Sango's about ready to confess her feelings to Michiru given that they've both nearly lost a sibling and they're getting closer to their first kiss.**

**Next chapter: The Fellowship of the Ring (I was going to call it the Council of Elrond but it seemed to be used a lot.)**

**Inuyasha, Michiru, Miroku and Sango are asked to attend the Council to decide the fate of the Ring and they learn surprising facts about Strider and the Ring while the others sneak in along with the hobbits.**


	8. The Fellowship of the Ring

Chapter 8: The Fellowship of the Ring

Middle-Earth: Rivendell

It appeared to be a beautiful morning in the valley of Rivendell until Strider came to the room where Inuyasha's group was staying and said that Lord Elrond has summoned Inuyasha, Michiru, Sango and Miroku to attend a council. After Strider had left, Kagome started to wonder why only the four of them were summoned and not all of them. After the four of them left, she managed to convince the others to secretly follow them to the council to find out what was up.

On their way to the council, they saw the hobbits Merry and Pippin heading in the same direction.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" Shippo had asked.

"Oh, uh nothing, really." Pippin said nervously.

Kagome suspected what they were up to and said, "Are you two trying to eavesdrop on the big meeting?"

Merry realizing that they were caught confessed, "Well, Frodo was summoned and we didn't like feeling left out."

Kagome smiled and said, "Hmm, since we're all going in the same direction we should go together."

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Merry said.

"Well, we better hurry up before someone spots us." Kaname said nervously.

They all made their way to the council and found places to hide to ensure that they wouldn't disturb the meeting.

*** * ***

Michiru had found a seat at the meeting next to Inuyasha two seats away from Gandalf. Despite Inuyasha's comments, Michiru found felt safe near the wise wizard. In a way he felt he could learn a lot from him the same way he learned a lot from Kakuju. He only wished that he could've saved his fallen ancestor from that Hitogata attack. Whatever problems laid ahead, Michiru would make sure that his new mentor would not suffer the same fate.

He then saw Miroku take a seat next to Inuyasha and what happened next was somewhat of a surprise to him. Sango saw that there were only two seats left, one next to Miroku and one next to him.

"Here, Sango. I saved you a seat." Miroku said almost innocently.

Sango looked at the monk and gave him a suspicious look. She then noticed the seat next to Michiru and took it. Michiru could not help but to smile at this, Miroku obviously saw it but he didn't care.

As soon as everyone was seated, Michiru looked around and saw Frodo at one end next to Gandalf. Next to Miroku sat an elf with blond hair who carried a bow with him was sitting near some of his kin. Next were a group of little folk with long beards. He knew from children's stories that they had to be dwarves, but one that caught his eye was carrying a set of axes and hatchets. And then sat a group of men, one of them he recognized as the man who stormed out of the gallery the other night and finally at the far end sat Strider; a man he could not figure out since the night they first met, but he felt indebted to him for keeping his word and helping his sister. It was obvious that Inuyasha couldn't figure him out either since he still didn't trust him.

Everyone was seated in a circle around a stone podium in the center of the room and Lord Elrond sat in a high chair a few feet away from it. Some gave Inuyasha's group suspicious looks but decided not to worry about it.

Lord Elrond rose from his chair and said, "Strangers from distant lands, friends of old; you have all been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-Earth now stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite, or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom. For those of you who don't know..." He said as he looked at Inuyasha's group. "Ages ago, great rings of power were crafted for the leaders of each race; three for the elves, seven for the dwarves and nine for men. These rings gave them the power and will to govern each race. But there was one ring created to rule them all in the fires of Mount Doom in the land of Mordor. A master ring, to control all others, was created by Sauron the Deceiver, Lord of Mordor. With this ring, Sauron spread fear throughout the far reaches of Middle-Earth, until a last alliance between elves and men opposed him at the slopes of Mount Doom. Sauron was defeated, but the ring survived and was lost for three thousand years. Now it has resurfaced. That is why we have all gathered here this day." Elrond then looked over toward Frodo and said, "Bring forth the ring, Frodo."

The young hobbit stood up and walked over to the stone podium in the center of the chamber. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the shiny gold ring that he carried with him. As soon as he placed it on the podium he returned to his seat while many in the room started whispering to each other.

As Inuyasha looked at it, he felt an ominous aura emanating from it, the kind that he felt whenever he was changing into a full-fledged demon. Miroku, though knowing how evil it was, looked at it with such desire for the possible things he could do with it. Michiru felt somewhat compelled to want to take such a powerful artifact, feeling that in some way it could help him master his full potential. Sango looked at it like it were a demon that needed to be exterminated, it reminded her of the Shikon Jewel and all the chaos that its very existence brought to the world.

Everyone felt something as they looked at the ring, but the man that Michiru saw the other night stood up and said, "In a dream, I saw the eastern sky grow dark... But in the west, a pale light lingered." He started walking slowly toward the stone podium in the center of the room. "A voice was crying out: 'Your doom is near at hand. Isildur's Bane is found.'" He then started reaching for the ring. "Isildur's Bane..."

Instantly, Lord Elrond stood up and yelled, "Boromir!" And suddenly an ominous voice spoke throughout the chamber and a dark cloud hovered over, blocking out the sun.

Everyone turned and saw that it was Gandalf speaking. He was speaking in an unknown language (Unknown to Inuyasha and his friends) that made the room quake as he spoke. The one dwarf grunted and grabbed one of his axes. The elves and Strider expressed disappointment as the wizard spoke. The men and Inuyasha's group didn't know what to make of the dramatic display before them.

The man known as Boromir had returned to his seat during the drama and as soon as Gandalf finished speaking, the sun returned and Lord Elrond said, "Never before has any voice uttered the words of that tongue here in Imladris."

Inuyasha not understanding what had occurred stood up and said, "Alright, what just happened here?"

Lord Elrond turned to the half-demon and said, "Gandalf spoke the inscription written on the ring in the Black Speech of Mordor." He then looked at the wizard. "Something that nobody except a servant of Sauron has done before."

Gandalf said as he gazed at everyone present, "I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond, for the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the west! The Ring is all together evil!" He then sat down as Boromir shook his head.

"But it is a gift, a gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people, are your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy, let us use it against him!"

"You cannot wield it, none of us here can!" Strider interrupted. "The one ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master."

"And what would a ranger know of this matter?" Boromir said coldly.

The elf carrying the bow stood up and said, "This is no mere ranger, he is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

Inuyasha's group and Frodo then looked at Strider with curiosity as the man said, "Aragorn? _This _is Isildur's heir?"

The elf clarified, "An heir to the throne of Gondor."

This took Inuyasha's group and Frodo by surprise. The ragged ranger who led them here was a king. Aragorn, not liking the looks everyone was giving him said something in elvish, "_Havo dad_, Legolas."

As the elf sat down, Michiru the most shocked one of the group looked at Aragorn and said rather stupidly, "You're a king?"

Before he could say anything, Boromir looked at Michiru and said, "Gondor has no king, boy." He then turned to Aragorn and said as he sat down, "Gondor needs no king."

"Aragorn is right." Gandalf said, "We cannot use it."

Lord Elrond stood and said, "You have only one choice; the ring must be destroyed."

At this, Boromir and several others shook their heads in protest but didn't say anything.

"Then what are we waiting for?" The dwarf with the axe said as he got up and approached the podium. He raised it high and brought it down mightly only for the blade to shatter into pieces as the dwarf flew backwards.

Inuyasha laughed and said, "Never use an mere axe to destroy a cursed ring." The dwarf looked at him with an unfriendly gaze. Inuyasha then stood up and drew his Tetsusaiga. The members of the council were amazed by the size of the blade.

"My Tetsusaiga will cut that ring into two." He said as he raised it over his head.

"Inuyasha, wait!" Both Lord Elrond and Michiru warned him, but it was too late. He brought the Tetsusaiga down onto the ring which made a metalic clank and suddenly sparks flew as electricity surged from the ring though the Tetsusaiga to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha grunted as he was getting zapped and suddenly he flew backwards like the dwarf and the Tetsusaiga changed back into an ordinary blade.

Michiru went to Inuyasha's side as they all looked to see that the ring remained unharmed.

Lord Elrond sighed and said, "The ring cannot be destroyed, Inuyasha, by any craft that we here possess. Not even by your Tetsusaiga. The ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you must do this."

The room went silent as nobody moved or spoke.

Boromir said in a low voice, "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is an evil there that does not sleep, and the Great Eye is ever watchful." Everyone looked at him wondering if he was exagerating or if he was being serious. "It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire, ash and dust. The very air you breathe, is a poisonous fume. Not even with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly."

"I agree. Given his description of Mordor, even if we did manage to get passed Sauron's armies, we would probably die before we could even reach the mountain." Miroku stated.

The elf, Legolas, looked at Boromir and Miroku with disbelief and said, "Have you two heard nothing Lord Elrond just said? The ring must be destroyed."

"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it?" The dwarf said as if challenging Legolas.

"Miroku, what are you saying? The ring is no different than the Sacred Jewel, it has to be destroyed!" Sango said in disbelief to the monk.

Boromir stood up and said to the demon-slayer, "And what happens if we fail? What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?!"

Michiru then stood up to get between Sango and Boromir and said confidently, "He won't succeed, not as long as I'm around."

"Really, Michiru, what makes you think you have what it takes to stand toe-to-toe with the dark lord?" Miroku challenged Michiru.

"How dare you say that, Miroku, after all he's done for us?!" Inuyasha said in Michiru's defense.

"I would be dead before I see the ring in the hands of an elf!" The dwarf yelled.

Pretty soon the whole room was in chaos. Legolas and the dwarf were doing their best to keep their hands away from their weapons, Sango and Boromir argued heatedly, Michiru and Miroku were at each others throats and Inuyasha was backing up Michiru until Gandalf joined the frey in which case the two exchanged a few words of their own. The only people who were still sitting were Frodo, Aragorn and Lord Elrond. Elrond shook his head as he waited for the chaos to die down which wasn't happening any time soon. Aragorn looked toward Frodo and Frodo was looking at the ring, listening to it's voice as the chaos kept up. He realized that the ring was feeding off of their arguing. Finally Frodo had enough and yelled as he stood up, "I will take!"

The council kept on arguing as if not hearing him the first time. "I will take it!" They then quieted down and turned to the hobbit with surprised expressions. They all stood silent as Frodo looked them all in the eye and said, "I will take the ring to Mordor."

Everyone's shock died down and they gave him encouraging looks.

"Though..." He said softly with hesitation. "I do not know the way."

At this Gandalf smiled and said as he approached the hobbit, "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins; along as it is yours to bear."

Aragorn then stood up and said, "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will." This statement obviously took Inuyasha's group by surprise. The ranger approached the hobbit, bent down on one knee and said, "You have my sword."

"And you have my bow." Legolas said as he approached the hobbit's side.

"And my axe." The dwarf followed.

Michiru then approached Frodo and said, "I'd like to accompany you as well if you don't mind." He said to everyone present. "Because _if_ we don't stop Sauron and he _does_ conquer all of Middle-Earth, what's to say he won't find his way to our homeland?" He said as he tried to avoid mentioning their real place of origin.

Sango stepped forward and said, "I take it that you'll be encountering demons and all sorts of fiends along the way. As a demon-slayer I do have a reputation to uphold."

Frodo then looked at Inuyasha wondering if he would join. The half-demon said, "Where ever they go, I go, so count me in."

"I too would like to lend aid for it is my duty as a monk." Miroku said as he joined his companions next to the hobbit.

Boromir stepped forward and said, "You carry the fates of us all little one. If this is indeed the will of the council, then Gondor will see it done."

"Hey!" A voice yelled from behind a bush behind where Frodo was sitting and Sam came running out and up next to Frodo. "Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me." The hobbit said determinedly.

"No, indeed it is difficult to sepparate you even when _he_ is summoned to a secret council and you are _not_." Lord Elrond said in point of fact as he raised an eyebrow.

"Oy, we're coming too!" Another voice came from behind a pillar behind where Aragorn was sitting and they saw Merry and Pippin running towards there cousin. Lord Elrond somewhat annoyed as to how many were eavesdropping. "You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!"

"And don't think you can count us out, bro!" Said Kaname's voice behind Lord Elrond's high chair and she walked in accompanied by Kagome, Shippo, Kohaku and Kilala.

"And besides," Pippin spoke, "You need people of intelligence on this sort of mission... Quest... Thing."

Gandalf rolled his eyes at his statement and Merry said, "Well, that rules you out, Pip."

"Eighteen companions," Lord Elrond said as he looked at the great company. "So be it. You shall all be the Fellowship of the Ring."

"Great!" Pippin said. "Where are we going?"

* * *

**And thus the Fellowship is forged. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Also I might make a few changes to the original storyline given Inuyasha and his friends' presence.**

**Next chapter: Getting Acquainted**

**As the Fellowship prepare to leave Rivendell, they take some time to get acquainted with one another and Michiru & Kaname begin to understand Aragorn a bit more.**


	9. Getting Acquainted

**Chapter 9: Getting Acquainted**

Middle-Earth: Rivendell

The birds were chirping early in the morning as the sun started cracking over the horizon. It had only been three days since the Fellowship was forged and some of the company had awoken early to prepare for the journey.

One of these members was Inuyasha who found it a bit hard to sleep given that he wasn't used to the new surroundings. Sure the beds were nice and comfy but he was still used to sleeping on the ground where he could sense anything out of place.

He had woken up and got himself ready and went to stand near the entrance as he waited for his friends to wake up. He knew he would have to wait a while since some of them, namely Michiru and Kaname, were used to sleeping in; especially given those extra hours of magic training with Elrond and Gandalf.

Given the few days they would have before they set out for Mordor, the twins wanted to learn as much as they could from the Wizard and Elf. Plus Kagome took the time to learn extra archery lessons from their fellowship elf member, Legolas, who had perfect accuracy and amazing agility.

As Inuyasha stood in waiting, one the other members of the Fellowship, Gimli son of Gloin, came toward him packed and ready to go. The dwarf stared at Inuyasha and Inuyasha said with irritation, "What?"

"What matter of elf might you be?" The dwarf inquired.

"I'm not an elf." Inuyasha replied.

"You're not? 'Cause I could have sworn that you were by those ears of yours."

"Trust me, I'm not."

"Oh, well that's a relief then." He said as wiped his brow.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why, you got something against them?"

"You could say that... I'm not saying that these elves aren't very wise, but they think that their so wise that they're better than anyone else. Not to mention that they like to stick their noses into other people's business when no one wants them to. If you're not careful, lad, they might think themselves better than you."

"Let them think what they want, but if they do try to mess with me..." Inuyasha said as he drew his Tetsusaiga. "I'll take them down in one swing."

Gimli stood before Inuyasha fascinated by the huge blade. He had remembered how big it was ever since he watched it attempt to destroy the ring at the council. Its wielder must be very strong to lift such weapon. He was even more amazed when he saw Inuyasha wave it which made its size reduce allowing him to put it back in its sheath.

"So... If you're not an elf, what exactly are ye?" Gimli asked, trying not to sound offensive.

"I'm... complicated." He said trying not to reveal his true origin.

"Well, if you don't wish to discuss it, then I won't force ya. I'm just glad that there's only gonna be one elf on this journey."

Inuyasha smirked at Gimli's comment. For some reason he found the Dwarf to be somewhat like himself. _Maybe this journey won't be so boring after all._

**X X X**

As Inuyasha and Gimli engaged in good conversation, Michiru was sleeping soundly in his room provided by Lord Elrond until he felt himself being awoken by his sister.

"Come on, bro. It's time to get up." She said softly, trying not to be too loud to wake the whole valley.

Michiru stirred and opened his eyes.

"You must have really been tired." Kaname stated. "I told you not to push yourself with your training."

"Sorry, it's just that we'll only be traveling with Gandalf and I wanted to learn as much as I could from Lord Elrond before we left."

Kaname laughed and said, "You know, if our classmates from back home saw you now, they'd be calling you a teacher's pet."

"Very funny, sis." He replied sarcastically.

While the twins were packing, Sango and Kilala arrived. Kilala jumped onto Kaname's shoulder as Sango said, "Hey you two; are you ready?"

"Just about." Michiru said as he looked at the clothing the elves had given him. "Should I wear this on our journey?"

"It wouldn't be a bad idea." Sango stated. "If you wear it, you probably won't get stared at a lot. That's why I decided to wear my demon slayer uniform given that there'll be lots of danger along the way."

"Well then it's decided. But I'll bring my normal clothes just in case."

Sango smiled at Michiru. She couldn't help but to laugh at him for being so carefree like his sister. She wondered if everyone in their time was as carefree as them given that there are hardly any demons.

Could she fit in among them? Could Kohaku and Kilala fit in?

She would have to ponder that thought later as she, Kilala and the Kururugi twins made their way toward the entrance to Rivendell.

Along the way, Michiru caught something on the corner of his eye and turned to see Aragorn son of Arathorn standing down in a courtyard in front of a statue of a woman that was covered in dead leaves and vines.

Sango, Kilala and Kaname stopped as well and watched as Aragorn removed the vines and wiped leaves off. The Ranger simply stared at her almost as if he knew her personally.

Everyone jumped slightly as they heard the voice of Elrond speaking in Elvish. They turned and saw that he was speaking to Aragorn.

"In her heart your mother knew you would be hunted all your life," He said normally. "That you'd never escape your fate; the skill of the Elves can re-forge the sword of kings, but only you have the power to wield it."

"I do not want that power," Aragorn said, "I have never wanted it."

Michiru, Kaname, Sango and Kilala were surprised by his statement. Aragorn was a man who had no desire to be king.

"You are the last of that bloodline; there is no other." Elrond said back.

Aragorn stood and said, "Power corrupts all, Lord Elrond; you of all people should know that. I will not be corrupted."

"To accept your place as King is not being corrupted. Attempting to possess a weapon of evil _is_." Elrond replied causing Aragorn to turn toward him. "Besides, Arwen wishes you to fulfill your destiny. Our time here is ending. Arwen's time is ending. Let her go, let her take the ship into the west. Let her bear away her love for you to the Undying Lands where it will be evergreen."

"But nothing more than a memory." Arargorn said with a hint of sadness.

Elrond's face showed determination as he said, "I will not leave my daughter here to die."

"She stays because she still has hope." Aragorn stated.

"She stays for you, but she belongs with her people." Elrond interjected.

Aragorn let out a sigh and walked away toward the entrance to Rivendell. After observing what just took place, Michiru turned to the others and said, "You three go on ahead, I need to speak with Lord Elrond."

Kaname turned toward her brother and asked, "Are you sure, bro?"

"Its okay, it'll only take a few minutes." Michiru replied.

"Well, if you say so..." With that said; Kaname, Sango and Kilala made their way toward the entrance while Michiru approached the High Elf.

"Lord Elrond?"

The Elf turned and said, "Yes, Michiru, what is it?"

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but I couldn't help but to overhear what just happened between you and Aragorn. Are you against Aragorn and Arwen being together?"

Lord Elrond took a moment and said, "I have nothing against Aragorn's feelings for Arwen nor hers for him. I raised Aragorn here in Rivendell as if he were my own son after his mother died. His father was slain by orcs when he was young because he and his father are the descendants of Isildur, the last King of Gondor."

"That's awful." Michiru stated.

Elrond nodded and said, "Yes it is, but now it means that Aragorn is destined to take his place as king but he chooses to live in exile; so I decreed that he and Arwen would not be together unless he sits on the thrown of Gondor. But even if he does, even with you and your friends here, Middle-Earth is on the verge of falling into darkness. As much as I would like to see Aragorn and Arwen together, I will do what I can to keep my daughter safe."

"Even if it means keeping them apart?" Michiru asked.

Elrond replied, "Yes."

"You told Aragorn that he should let Arwen go to the Undying Lands. What are the Undying Lands?" Michiru asked.

Elrond turned and explained, "The Undying Lands is a place of great beauty, a mystical land that only the chosen can reach. It is a place similar to what you would call 'heaven'; those that die go there in spiritual form and those who are living must be chosen to go there. It resides in the west beyond the Grey Havens."

"Frodo and Sam mentioned the Grey Havens when we saw a group of Elves walking west on our way here." Michiru brought up.

"Yes, it is where we came from, but the time of the Elves is now over. Me and my people will be leaving these shores soon." Elrond explained.

"Why?"

"We Elves are like what you would call Angels. We came from 'Heaven' to Middle-Earth to preserve life to these lands. Now that our task is done, we must return to where we came from."

Looking sad Michiru asked, "But what if Middle-Earth will be in need of you again?"

Elrond paused for a moment before he said, "I don't think it will be likely... but _If_ Middle-Earth is ever in need of us again, the Valar _should_ send us back, but I cannot promise that it will happen."

"I understand." Michiru replied, though not liking that an amazing race of beings was leaving Middle-Earth indefinately.

Elrond smiled at the boy's understanding and said, "I will say this Michiru, you and your sister have learned a lot in the few days you've been here. Gandalf will help you two on your journey, but I have taught you both all that I can. With any luck, this journey will help you reach your full potential."

Elrond reached into his sleeve and pulled out a book about an inch thick and presented to Michiru. "Take this with you. It contains several spells and techniques that could be of help to you as well as an elvish dictionary for you to learn our language."

Michiru took it and bowed as he said, "Thank you, Lord Elrond."

Elrond bowed back and said, "Now you best hurry to the entrance. The Fellowship is preparing to leave and it would be a shame if you were left behind."

Michiru smiled and made his way toward the others.

**X X X**

As Sango, Kaname and Kilala left Michiru alone with Lord Elrond, they made their way to the entrance of Rivendell when they saw Aragorn speaking to Arwen. They seem to be speaking in Elvish.

The three had already been eavesdropping before but this time was an accident as they were making their way to the entrance.

After a moment Arwen looked saddened and she said normally, "Why are you saying this?"

Aragorn replied rather bluntly, "I am a mortal, you are Elf-Kind. It was a dream, Arwen, nothing more."

Arwen inched herself closer and said bravely, "I don't believe you."

Aragorn sighed and pull something out of his pocket. He opened his hand and revealed the necklace that Sango saw Arwen give him.

"This belongs to you." He said to her.

She smiled and said as she closed his hand over it, "It was a gift. Keep it."

Aragorn said nothing as he turned and walked down to the entrance to Rivendell where the Fellowship was gathering.

Kaname went on but Sango went over to Arwen with Kilala on her shoulder and said, "Is something wrong, Lady Arwen?"

Arwen turned to the Demon Slayer and replied, "Please, Sango, just call me Arwen."

"Sure thing; is something wrong?"

"Aragorn feels that we cannot be together, I don't know what has brought this out in him."

Sango paused a moment before she said, "This may not be my place say but I overheard him talking with Lord Elrond a moment ago, saying that he should let you go."

"I should have figured as much." Arwen realized. "Thank you for telling me this."

"Not a problem, I just felt that you should know." Sango responded modestly.

"I sense that you also are having love issues." Arwen said.

"I... I... I don't know what you're talking-." Sango replied in a shocked manner.

"You don't need to fear, your should be free to express your feelings to Michiru, if you are truly in love with him." Arwen said which caused the Demon Slayer's face to turn as red as a tomato.

"W-What makes you think that I'm in l-l-love with him?" Sango asked back.

Arwen smiled at knowing that Sango has yet to be honest about her feelings and said, "I figured it out when Aragorn and I found you two together watching us."

Sango began to redden even more with embarrassment as she said, "Y-Yeah, uh, sorry about that. Michiru was curious and when I found him there we sorta forgot about you two for the moment."

"Yes, considering that you two were about to share your first kiss." Arwen replied.

The Demon Slayer stood silently at the realization that the elf maiden was right. She _was_ about to kiss Michiru until Arwen and Aragorn walked in on them. Something she was almost grateful for and at the same time a bit disappointed at.

"H-He told me he loved me... once." Sango uttered.

"Do you feel the same?" Arwen asked.

"I-I don't know."

"Well then you best figure it out before its too late." Arwen replied as she started to walk away, "For both of your sakes, I hope for the best that you do feel the same for him."

Sango pondered on what she said as she went to join the others.

**X X X**

Meanwhile, Miroku the monk was making his way toward the entrance when he ran into Boromir, son of Denathor of Gondor.

As the two made their way toward the entrance, Boromir asked, "What manner of wizard are you, good sir?"

"I wouldn't necessarily call myself a wizard. I am a monk, sworn to protect weak and comfort the hearts of lonely women across the land." Miroku replied.

"So basically, you're a womanizer." Miroku was about to protest when Boromir said with a smirk, "Well, you're not the only one my friend. There are quite a few back home that have tried to win as many hearts as possible. The only bad thing about being a womanizer is knowing who you're about win over because if she's already taken you best run for the hills before he draws his blade."

"My sentiments exactly," Miroku said wholeheartedly. "But what if you were trying to court a woman and someone else comes into the picture and wins her over, what then?"

"Well, if there's nothing you can do to win her back, your best bet is to move on to the next lovely lady who crosses your path, or at least that's what some friends of mine said." Boromir said.

Miroku wondered if the Gondorian was a womanizer himself but regardless, he was glad that he would have someone to talk to about women on this journey.

* * *

**I hope you all didn't think I abandoned this; I have tons of crossover fanfic ideas and a busy schedule giving me very little time to get to a computer every now and then. Enjoy!**

**{Update} I thought it would be nice to have Michiru get a better understanding as to why the elves are leaving. Some of what is said is speculation on my part. I also wanted to have a moment between Sango and Arwen after the scene between Arwen and Aragorn that is shown in the Two Towers.**

**Next Chapter: Departing South**

**The Fellowship leaves Rivendell heading south toward Rohan but they learn that someone is blocking their passage. Do they continue on or find a different route?**


	10. Departing South

**Chapter 10: Departing South**

All eighteen members of the Fellowship had gathered at the entrance to Rivendell along with Bill the pony who has traveled with them since Bree. They stood before Lord Elrond, Lady Arwen and the Elves of Rivendell as the Elf Lord was ready to send them off on their journey.

"The Ring-bearer is setting out on a quest to Mount Doom." Lord Elrond said to them. "And all you who travel with him, no oath nor bond is laid to go further than you will. Farewell, hold to your purpose and may the blessings of Elves, and Men, and all free-folk go with you." He then bowed to them one last time.

"The Fellowship awaits the Ring-Bearer." Gandalf said to get Frodo's attention.

Frodo turned towards them and began walking down the path leading out of Rivendell. As they were approaching a small fork Frodo whispered, "(Mordor, Gandalf, is it left or right?)"

Kaname who was just behind Gandalf, giggled when she heard him.

"(Left.)" Gandalf whispered back.

With that said, Frodo was leading the Fellowship out of Rivendell. At the rear, Michiru saw Aragorn and noticed that he was still looking at Arwen. He knew that they were in love and the way he was looking at her, it was as if he was trying to engrave her image to memory. He then turned and saw Michiru looking at him with concern and forced a smile as he walked out the gate. Michiru took one last look at Arwen and saw distress in her eyes, fear that she might not see him ever again.

Michiru immediately left and ran after the ranger and whispered, "(Don't worry, Aragorn, I'm sure you'll see her again.)"

The Ranger knew that Michiru was only trying to cheer him up and was grateful for it but somehow he couldn't bring himself to agree with the Shikigami User.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up." Aragorn replied as they rejoined the Fellowship to begin their journey to Mount Doom.

**X X X**

As the Fellowship traveled south from Rivendell toward the country of Rohan, they began to learn more about each other, becoming closer in the last few days and some old grievances were forgotten or at least put aside for the time being. For instance, Gimli started being a little more civil to Legolas and Boromir to Aragorn.

It was in the middle of the day when the Fellowship started traversing a small green mountain range when Gimli looked at Inuyasha and asked, "So tell me, lad, how exactly does your sword grow so big and then reduce itself back to an ordinary blade?"

Inuyasha replied, "Well, my old man took one of his fangs out and had a swordsmith named Totosai forge my Tetsusaiga from it."

"That's interesting."

"It has the power to slay a hundred demons in one swing, no exaggerating."

"Now that's very interesting." Gimli said with intrigue.

"He died some time ago and left it behind for me to inherit. He also left another sword, the Tensaiga, which can resurrect the dead to my half-brother, Sesshomaru, but given his less-than-savory nature he can't use it and wanted the Tetsusaiga instead." Inuyasha explained.

Gimli commented, "Talk about a spoiled runt."

"Yeah, tell me about it. Anyway he tried and failed many time to steal the Tetsusaiga from me but then got bored and had another swordsmith make him a sword called Tokijin from the fangs of a demon named Goshinki who actually managed to break the Tetsusaiga in half."

"So his sword may rival yours, but how did you fix the Tetsusaiga?" Gimli asked.

"Unfortunately, Totasai had to take out one of _my_ fangs, which hurt like hell, and when it was repaired I was unable to lift it for a while; let alone wield it's full power."

"What did you do?"

"Totosai said that to regain use of the Tetsusaiga I had to do something my old man couldn't."

"Which was?"

"Use it to defeat the lousy demon that killed him."

"And I take it you beat'em?"

"I wouldn't have lifted it over my head at the council if I didn't." Inuyasha remarked.

"Well, I say this much, I'm looking forward to seeing you and that sword do some real damage to to anything that gets in our way." Gimli said enthusiastically.

**X X X**

Later on when the group made camp, Kagome had set up a few rock piles with with tomatos on them and took out her bow and arrows.

Kagome had been practicing her Archery for five minutes when Legolas came up to her and said, "How are you faring?"

"Okay, you?" Kagome said back.

"I couldn't help but to notice that you were havin slight difficulty pulling the bow string back." The Elf-Prince pointed out.

"Yeah, I've been using it for a while now and yet I'm still lacking the strength to pull it back far." Kagome admitted. Despite her athleticism back home, she lacked physical strength to such an extent that she wouldn't be able to do push-ups in gym class.

"Its not your lack in strength that is the issue, its the strength in the bow string. Its so tight that you can hardly pull it, too loose and it won't fire." Legolas explained as he walked up and took her bow and started to loosen the string. "But if if you tie it in the right spot with the right knot, it'll fire at great distances _and_ be easy and comfortable to wield."

He finished tying it back up and handed it to her.

Kagome tugged to string and was able to easily pull it without it snapping or coming loose.

"Wow, thanks!" Kagome said delightfully.

"You are welcome, now if you like I can teach some special archery of the Elves." Legolas offered.

"Sure, I'd love for you to teach me!"

As they took their positions, Kagome learned a great deal from Legolas's archery lessons and was amazed at how he was so dead-on accurate and could reload so quickly. He managed to help with her aiming and accuracy and taught her how to reload quicker but she was still not as fast as the elf yet better than she was before.

**X X X**

Early the next day, the Fellowship woke up to find Gandalf and the Kururugi twins wide awake performing magical spells. Michiru and Kaname were with Gandalf looking to learn more about magic and their Shikigami and to find a link between them.

Gandalf was showing them his ability to peer beyond human eyes. His eyes glowed with a blue electrical glow as he said, "Over the horizon, I can see a deer sipping near a lake... And beyond that I can see a wild boar running from a hunter who looks starving."

"Amazing." Kaname stated. "What else can you see?"

"I see... Fishermen having difficulty catching a fish, oh wait... One of them is pulling so hard that he's on the opposite end of the boat... Oh and the boat has flipped over, the fishermen are soaking wet and the fish has gotten away."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Michiru and Kaname laughed so hard that their stomach's began to hurt.

The glow in Gandalf's eyes disappeared and he turned to them and said, "Now I want you two to try. From what I understand your wind Shikigami would be the best element for an abiliy such as this. Calm yourselves and focus your wind Shikigami into your eyesight."

The twins nodded, closed their eyes and breathed calmly as they focused their powers.

The two then snapped their eyes opened and said simultaiously, "Oh, overflowing blue sky, peer through the fog of evil, Blue Sky Vision!"

The green bird representing their wind Shikigami appeared and evaporated into green bright dots that swirled and flowed into the twins' eyes and caused them to glow green.

Amazed by their peformance, the Fellowship watched in awe as Gandalf asked, "What can you see?"

Michiru was the first to answer as he looked southeast from where they were, "I see... a white city."

"Minas Tirith." Boromir stated the obvious.

"Its beautiful, its as white as snow." Kaname added, amazed by what she was seeing.

"There's also a city on a river... its all messy." Michiru stated.

"That's Osgiliath, its messy because there was a battle their recently." Boromir explained.

"Now I see a fortress of some kind... Its all black and green and filled with ugly creatures." Kaname described what she saw with fear and disgust.

"That would be Minas Morgul." Gandalf clarified. "Once a city of Gondor before it was taken over by Sauron's forces."

"Now I see mountains and beyond them... is a volcano... and a tower... there's something at the top calling out..."

"Michiru, Kaname, stop now before-." Gandalf warned them.

But he was too late as the twins looked through their enhanced vision at the top of the tower and saw the Eye of Sauron with his piercing gaze looking back at them uttering something in his guttural black speech of Mordor.

_**"I see you!"**_ He yelled at them in the normal language.

Suddenly the twins started to quake in fear and then grabbed their heads as Sauron spoke again in his black speech, his words began to mentally hurting the Kururugi twins.

They were on their knees cringing in agony as the Dark Lord's voice tortured them until they heard Gandalf yell, "_Return to us!_"

Suddenly they were no longer before the Eye of Sauron and the pain they were enduring was gone. Gandalf, the Fellowship and their friends surrounded with concerned looks on their faces.

"What happened?" Kagome asked.

"W-We saw a... a flaming eyeball... i-it was looking at us." Michiru said as he tried and failed to regain his composure.

"The Eye of Sauron." Gandalf clarified for those that didn't understand.

"H-He said something in that awful language of his... t-the sound of it was horrible... h-he was torturing us." Kaname said with tears in her eyes.

"That bastard." Inuyasha gritted his teeth and balled a fist as he said, "When we reach Mordor I am so going to waste him."

"Easier said than done, my friend." Boromir stated.

"Let us worry about Sauron later, right now it would be best if you two take a break and calm yourselves." Gandalf said as he led them back to the campsite.

A few hours later they packed up and started off again on their journey. As they pressed on, the twins declared that they weren't going to perform that spell again for a while. Gandalf told them the consequences of seeing things at great distances and to be more careful when using this technique.

Though they were reluctant, they knew they would have use it again sometime and would have to prepare themselves.

**X X X**

As the Fellowship continued on their journey, Aragorn noticed as she kept her eyes locked on Michiru. The Ranger knew that she fancied the Shikigami user after Arwen and him caught them eavesdropping on them back at Rivendell and he could tell that she was worried about him after seeing him and his sister endure seeing the Eye of Sauron.

He walked up to her and said, "I can see that you are troubled."

She looked at him and said, "I'm just concerned about Michiru and Kaname, after what they endured."

"I'm sure they'll be okay." Aragorn said to ease her concern.

"I hope so, it was so awful seeing them suffer like that."

Aragorn nodded and replied, "That's Sauron's way of trying to tell the people of Middle-Earth that they will endure the same torment if they do not surrender to his will. They're actually lucky they were just tortured."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because usually he would just kill anyone who hears and sees him. The fact that they are still alive means either they did not endure enough to be killed or he merely let them live to make them cease in opposing them. Whatever the case they are very lucky to still be able to push on after what they endured."

"I see." Sango said.

"By the way I never got the chance to say how well you faught against those Nazgul at Weathertop. There are few women I've met who could hold their own as well as you."

"Thank you, you faught well yourself. We wouldn't have lasted any longer if you and Inuyasha hadn't shown up when you did." Sango replied.

"Bare in mind that the Nazgul are creatures of darkness so their weak against fire and light." The ranger pointed out to the Demon Slayer.

"Thanks for the tip, I'll be sure to remember that."

As they continued on, Sango and Aragorn got over their tension they had when they first met and thought about sharing more battle tips with one another. The Ranger was intrigued by the Demon Slayer's methods of fighting and Sango was amazed with Aragorn's tracking skills.

**X X X**

During the middle of the day, Shippo and Kohaku were walking alongside the four hobbits from the Shire when Shippo's stomach started to growl.

"Ugh, I'm starving." The Fox-Demon said.

Merry pulled out a potato from his coat pocket then turned to him and said, "Here, have this."

Shippo took it and said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Shippo started munching on it and Kohaku smiled as he said, "You Hobbits must have big stomachs for such small people to always have food handy."

Sam replied, "Indeed, we do."

"My Uncle Bilbo believes that we Hobbits like to eat a lot because we feel that the more we eat, the bigger we'll get so that if we ever traveled out of the Shire we'd be more noticeable to the other races and not be mistaken for children." Frodo explained.

"I guess that does make some sense." Kohaku stated.

"Hey, I was wonderin'." Pippin said. "Are there any Hobbits in your world?"

"Not as far as I know, although Michiru, Kaname and Kagome say that there are people of short stature in our world that could come close to being known as dwarves."

"That's interesting." Merry said.

As the six young and short members of the Fellowship kept on walking, Shippo and Kohaku got along well with the hobbits since they all had care-free attitudes and didn't like thinking about violence and despair.

Miroku and Boromir meanwhile talked a bit about women as well as what its like to be a warrior. Boromir talked a bit about his home of Minas Tirith which fascinated Miroku and the monk explained the curse that was his wind tunnel. Though he was glad to be rid of it, there are times he wished he still had it to defeat his enemies; something Boromir understood clearly.

**X X X**

It had been their third day of traveling since they left Rivendell and at the moment, Gandalf was sitting on a rock away from the group smoking his pipe in deep thought; Legolas was constantly circling the camp keeping an eye out for any enemies and Gimli was quietly conversing with Gandalf about which road they should take. Bill the pony was off to the side minding his own business. Michiru, Kaname, Miroku, Kagome, Shippo, Kohaku, Frodo and Sam were sitting together on a small ledge eating cooked food, which Sam was sneaking some to Bill, while watching Aragorn, who was eating an apple, and Sango, who was petting Kilala on her lap, give Merry and Pippin combat tips while they were practicing sword-fighting with Boromir and Inuyasha who kept his Tetsusaiga at its normal size so that he wouldn't accidently hurt them.

"Two, one, five! Good, very good!" Boromir praised Merry as he successfully parried Boromir's attacks.

"Remember, don't let your enemy intimidate you, no matter how big and scary they are." Inuyasha said as he swung toward Pippin in which the hobbit blocked.

On the high rock overlooking the camp, Gimli the Dwarf said to Gandalf, "If anyone was asking my opinion, which I note they're not, I'd say we were taking the long way around. Gandalf, we could pass through the Mines of Moria. My cousin, Balin, would give us a royal welcome."

"No, Gimli, I would not take the road through Moria unless I had no other choice." The wizard stated to the Dwarf before turning his attention to something in the sky towards the south.

As Merry and Boromir continued practicing, the man accidently nicked the hobbit's hand and he dropped his sword as he yelped.

"Sorry..." Was all Boromir said before the hobbit kicked him in the shin and soon he found Merry and Pippin jumping on top of him engaging in a mock-fight.

"For the Shire! Hold him, Merry!"

Everyone who was watching laughed at the comical scene, even Inuyasha found it funny. Aragorn then stood up and walked over in an attempt to break it up before things got out of hand.

"Gentlemen, that's enough." The ranger said before Merry and Pippin looked at each other and then pulling the ranger off his feet with a big "Oof!" Losing his apple in the process.

This caused everyone to laugh out loud as Inuyasha then decided to step in and used his half-demon strength the hoist the two hobbits off Boromir in each hand.

Sam then took his eyes off the comical display and looked toward the south and saw something in the sky, "What is that?"

"Nothing, its a wisp of cloud." Gimli stated which got everyone turning their heads toward the south.

"Its moving fast... against the wind." Boromir said.

"I can hear it... it sounds like... birds." Inuyasha told them given his unique sense of hearing.

"Crebain from Dunland!" Legolas announced.

"Hide, hurry, everyone hide!" Aragorn shouted as everyone rushed to gather their supplies and put out the fires before finding a place to conceal their presence.

After a few silent minutes, the Crebain were cawing as they flew all over the camp for at least ten seconds before they all soared back toward the south from wence they came.

"Why did we have to hide from a bunch of birds?" Inuyasha asked irritantly.

"Those were no ordinary birds." Aragorn informed him.

"Spies of Saruman..." Gandalf stated.

"Saruman? You mean the wizard that was holding you prisoner while we were in Bree?" Michiru asked.

Everyone was surprised by what Gandalf stated. Back at Rivendell when Inuyasha's group shared their origin with everyone that was present, the wizard had told them of how when he left to seek help from another wizard named Saruman the White who resided in Isengard which was south of their position, Saruman had in fact allied himself with the Dark Lord Sauron and had imprisoned Gandalf at the top of the tower until he was rescued by the Eagle Gwaihir, the Wind Lord, and had flown to Rivendell.

"Yes, the same... And it seems that our passage south is being watched by his spies."

"So what do we do now?" Kagome asked.

"We must take the Pass of Caradhras." The wizard said as he turned his head toward the mountain east of them. It was gigantic mountain with snow, ice and rock that looked unstable.

Everyone had one thing on their mind, _This is going to be a long journey._

* * *

**Chapter ten is now up, next I shall work on reviewing my other stories. For those who believe this chapter to be a bit short, don't feel disappointed. I had planned on it to be this long and just been sidetracked to get it up.**

**{Update} I decided to tell more of the interactions between the characters like where Michiru and Kaname face Sauron whereas for others I kept simple like the interaction between Miroku and Boromir.**

**Next Chapter: A More Dangerous Road**

**The Fellowship attempts to climb over Caradhras only for the power of Saruman to make the route too dangerous to take. As they decide on what to do, the Fellowship fears that its own members are beginning to ruin their quest to destroy the ring.**


	11. A More Dangerous Route

**Chapter 11: A More Dangerous Route**

Middle-Earth: The Misty Mountains, Pass of Caradhras

It took a day for the Fellowship to climb the mountain by foot to reach the pass that leads over Caradhras. By the time the snow started to reach their knees most of them started wishing they had taken a different route.

Kaname tried to walk on top of the snow by taking light steps but she kept sinking through and the cold snow froze her bare legs as well as got her shoes wet.

"Ugh, I think I'd be better off walking through those marshes again." She said to Aragorn who laughed a bit at her comment while trying to help her through it.

When it was mid-day, the bright sunlight combined with the white snow started making it hard for them to see where they were going that when Frodo was walking he didn't see an icy spot and slipped. He tumbled down the slope only to be stopped Aragorn and Kaname.

"Frodo, are you okay?" Kaname asked.

Everyone stopped their progress when she spoke up, hoping that the Ring-bearer was uninjured.

The Hobbit nodded as he got to his feet and put his hand to his chest then suddenly his eyes widened when he realized that something was missing. Before leaving Rivendell he started carrying the ring on a chain that he hung around his neck and it was no longer there.

Frodo had clearly dropped it when he tumbled down the slope.

He then looked up and saw it lying in the snow before it was picked up by the chain by Boromir. The Gondorian froze when he picked it up and gazed at it as if he was in some kind of trance. The Fellowship then turned their attention to the man who was holding the fate of the world in his grasp.

"Boromir..." Aragorn called out to him. Kaname was a bit unclear as to what was going on.

Unfazed by the ranger's voice, Boromir continued gazing upon the ring and whispered, "It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt... over so small a thing... such a little thing..."

His hand started to slowly approach the ring.

"Boromir..." Aragorn called out again, a bit louder this time which surprised Kaname. This snapped the man out of his little trance and he looked toward the ranger. "... Give the ring to Frodo." He said trying not to sound threatening.

The Gondorian looked at the ring again and then at the hobbit and walked toward him as he held it out for him to reach.

"As you wish..." Boromir said as Frodo grabbed it from his hand in a quick motion. "... I care not." He forced a smile in an attempt to forget his little trance and laughed slightly as he wiped some snow out of Frodo's hair before turning to continue the hike over the mountain.

Kaname was a little loss for words and when she turned toward Aragorn, she went pale when she saw Aragorn remove his hand from the hilt of his sword.

As they continued walking, the girl tugged on the ranger's sleeve and asked, "Aragorn, why was your hand on your sword?"

Aragorn knew that the girl was concerned and replied, "Boromir was being tempted by the ring's power to take it. I was glad to have gotten through to him but in case I couldn't..." He decided not to finish that last sentence for he didn't wish to scare her.

Kaname could see where this was going and asked, "Were you really going to kill him if you couldn't get through to him?"

"I promised to protect Frodo while he journeys to destroy the ring, even from members of our own Fellowship."

Kaname stopped for a moment as they all walked ahead of her and looked at their traveling group. Some of them have gotten to like each other while others had been friends for a while. Has the Fellowship really come down to willingly killing each other to keep the quest alive?

She shuddered at the thought as she continued walking.

**X X X**

Later that day the Fellowship had reached the top of the mountain where the weather had gotten intense as a blizzard appeared out of nowhere. The increase in snow had started to reach their waist so Gandalf used his staff to plow a path in the tightly packed snow for them to walk through close to the wall as the road got a bit narrow.

"It's... V-Very... C-C-C-Cold..." Shippo said as he shivered and his teeth chattered.

"D-D-Don't remind us, S-S-Shippo..." Inuyasha muttered as his teeth chattered as well.

"This blizzard don't bother me." Gimli said behind the half-demon. "We Dwarves are used to such conditions given that we live in mountains!"

Just then they saw the Elf Prince Legolas walking on top of the tightly packed snow easily without leaving a so much as a footprint as if he was oblivious to the blizzard, trying to make sure they didn't stray off the path.

Inuyasha growled and said, "Would it bother anyone if I 'accidentally' pushed him off?"

Gimli smiled a bit and said, "As much as I would love to see that, I wouldn't press my luck if I were you, lad. We might need him in the long run."

The Elf had heard them and simply rolled his eyes. Suddenly he started to hear something, a voice. He turned and saw that no one was speaking at the moment and yet he could still hear something. He turned to the south and somewhere in the distance he could here the voice of someone saying something dreadful.

"There is a fell voice in the air..." He told his companions.

They all stopped to listen. It sounded like that of an old man chanting something.

Gandalf's eyes widened and he shouted, "Its Saruman!"

Suddenly giant chunks of rock started to fall from the peak of the mountain down toward them. Everyone hugged the wall of the mountain as the rocks bounced off the edge and down the slopes.

"He's trying to bring down the mountain!" Aragorn stated. "Gandalf, we must turn back!"

"No!" The wizard yelled before he joined Legolas atop the tightly packed snow and started chanting an incantation as if to counter the power of Saruman from the distance.

Unfortunately the power of Saruman proved to be stronger when a bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens and struck the peak of the mountain and caused an avalanche to fall down upon them.

Legolas quickly grabbed Gandalf and pulled him toward the wall of the mountain and everyone braced themselves for impact.

"Miroku, Kaname, help me create a barrier... quick!" Michiru shouted out as he summoned his Shikigami.

Kaname followed suit as Miroku slammed his staff into the ground to project a barrier big enough to protect six people whereas the Kururugi's barriers were able to protect six each.

The heavy snow and chunks of rock toppled onto the narrow path and buried everyone alive. For what couldn't remain fell over the side down the slopes. Underneath the snow, the barriers created to protect the Fellowship from the disaster dissipated and the snow imploded a bit.

In the midst of the mountain of snow, a hand shot out and Legolas emerged from the depths followed by Inuyasha who picked Shippo up by the tail and saw that his eyes were swirling.

Michiru, Sango and Kohaku emerged by Michiru using his fire Shikigami to melt the snow around them.

Kaname did the same thing and she, Aragorn and Frodo popped up. Miroku, Kagome and Boromir broke free and helped Sam, Merry and Pippin out while Gimli plowed his own way out with his axe and Gandalf with his staff.

Kilala got herself and Bill free by transforming into her demon form and the flames resulted in the snow melting, upon getting free she shook the snow out of her fur and turned back to her cat form as Bill neighed with joy.

Once everyone was free, Boromir shouted above the blowing winds, "We must get off the mountain! Make for the Gap of Rohan and take the west road to my city!"

"The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn stated. If Saruman knew that they were on Caradhras, then he would surely expect them to come near Isengard and have them all captured, or worse.

"If we cannot pass over the mountain, then let us go under it!" Gimli suggested. "Let us go through the Mines of Moria!"

Gandalf fell into deep thought at Gimli's suggestion. He could hear the voice of Saruman speak to him within his mind, _**"Moria, so you fear to go into those mines, Gandalf. The Dwarves who ruled there delved too greedily and too deep. You know what they awoke in the darkness of Khazad-Dum... Shadow and Flame..."**_

As he heard this, he remembered looking in the book of Moria's history that featured at the end a painted image of a set of demonic eyes peering through the darkness that were as bright as the flames around the frame of the page.

As the wizard came out of his own thoughts, he looked to the others and said, "Let the Ring-bearer decide."

Frodo then looked at everyone around him and was a bit nervous to decide the best route possible. He knew they couldn't continue on Caradhras without getting themselves killed and he knew they wouldn't make it passed Isengard alive but as much as he felt safer going through the mines, the look on Gandalf's face told him that the route through Moria was perilous.

"We cannot stay here!" Boromir said as he tried to keep Merry and Pippin warm. "This will be the death us all!"

"Frodo...?" Gandalf said, as if pleading for an answer.

The Hobbit went through all the options in his head again and even though Gandalf's face said that Moria was a dangerous route, it seemed less dangerous than the other two routes.

"We will go through the mines." Frodo said.

Gandalf sighed and responded, "So be it."

With that said everyone gathered themselves up and started back-tracking down the mountain.

**X X X**

Along the way, they noticed a cave to the side that passed earlier since they were eager to get across the mountain. They decided to make camp there.

As the Fellowship set down their gear, Kaname looked to the back of the cave and sensed something through her Shikigami. She started walking down the corridor and after rounding a corner she noticed what appeared to be a small pool and instantly got an idea.

She ran back to the others and said, "Hey everyone, there's a pool in the back of the cave. If me and Michiru use our fire Shikigami, we can turn it into a hot spring and we can wash up."

Everyone looked at her and decided that it would be nice to bathe in a hot spring after freezing their butts off on the snowy slopes.

The guys went back first to see if there were no enemies hidden there. Michiru bent down and felt the cold water before using his fire Shikigami to warm it up.

He then gathered some water in his hand and said before taking a drink, "Do you guys think it's safe to drink from?"

Suddenly Shippo let out a jovial cry as he jumped into the water.

"Not anymore." Inuyasha stated. Some of the others chuckled.

"Its safe," Aragorn said, "Plus no orcs are nested here, so we should be fine while we're here."

After the guys cleaned and warmed themselves up, the girls went in next.

Kagome gathered some warm water into her hands and splashed her face that was still chilly from the cold conditions.

"Aah, nice and warm." She said with relief.

"This was a good idea, Kaname." Sango praised the Kururugi girl.

"Thanks, it's nice to know that I can be of some use on this trip."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked as she started to undo her blouse.

"Well... since I first met you guys I've been wondering if I've been of any use to you." Kaname said solemnly.

"What are you saying? Of course you have." Kagome replied as she pulled her shirt over her head.

"Yeah, but..."

"Kaname, what's bothering you?" Sango asked.

"It's just... during the Doll Festival, when our dad asked us to get some amulets out of the storage shed, he had only asked Michiru, I just went along with him. And when we first arrived in the Feudal Era, Michiru quickly got used to it whereas I still easily get scared at the sight of a dark cloud in the sky. I sometimes wonder if I'm just a tag-along to you all."

"Don't you dare say that, Kaname." Sango told her. "You've been just as helpful as your brother and you know it. Don't ever think that you don't belong with us."

"Yeah, after all that we've been through, you should know that we would never have beaten Naraku if you and your brother hadn't shown up." Kagome added.

Taken back a bit by Sango and Kagome's statements, Kaname smiled and said, "Thank you, guys. I guess after getting hurt by that Ringwraith, I wanted to make sure that I truly belonged."

"Is that what's bothering you, the fact that you were easily defeated by one of those creatures?" Sango pointed out.

Kaname nodded and said, "I thought I was really going to die there. Out of all the times me and my brother came close to dying, that was the closest that I've ever felt."

Sango placed her left hand on Kaname's shoulder and said to her, "I know how that feels, Kaname. The day my brother was first controlled by Naraku and he was forced to attack me, I suffered so many injuries that I thought for sure that I was going to die; but luckily I was still strong enough to stay alive."

"So what didn't kill you made you stronger?" Kaname asked the demon slayer.

Sango nodded, "That's pretty much the case."

"Well then, I'll definitely be stronger next time around. Those Ringwraiths aren't gonna beat me so easily again." The Kururugi girl said with determination which brought a smile to the other girls' faces.

**X X X**

Meanwhile the male members of the Fellowship sat around a campfire made near the entrance to the cave and they watched as the blizzard Saruman was conjuring began to grow even harsher than it was a while ago.

"We'll have to get moving soon." Gandalf spoke. "If this storm continues we'll likely be buried alive in here before nightfall."

"I agree with Gandalf." Aragorn said. "We best get ready to leave."

As they all grabbed their gear, Pippin looked around and noticed that someone was missing.

"Hey, everyone, where's Miroku?" The hobbit asked.

Everyone looked up and noticed that the monk was no where in sight and suddenly they heard the girls scream, "AAAAAHHHHH!"

Upon hearing their screams, they could hear the voice of Miroku say, "P-Please, ladies, I just came to offer you some bodyheat!"

Michiru and Inuyasha rushed to the back of the cave knowing what was up whereas everyone else had it in their right mind to stay behind.

They heard punching and kicking sounds and soon heard Kagome yell, "Aaahh! Inuyasha, you pervert, SIT!"

There was a crashing sound and they then heard Sango yell, "Aaaahhhh! Michiru, Look away!"

"I'm sorry, I swear it was an accident!" The Shikigami user said with panic.

When Michiru and Inuyasha returned they had Miroku's arms around their necks as they were carrying him to the camp. Michiru's face was red from embarrassment, and Inuyasha's was covered in dirt. Miroku's face however was bruised, swollen and had three red hand-prints on it while his legs were clenched together tightly. He was moaning in extreme pain but had a slight smirk on his face.

"You never learn, do you?" Inuyasha said bluntly.

"I... It was... well... worth it." He muttered.

Five minutes after retrieving the hurt Miroku, the girls returned fully clothed and ready to leave. The Fellowship left the cave and made their way down the mountain toward the walls of Moria.

**X X X**

They were currently walking up a rocky path that led toward the mountain side where there was a broken bridge that had water falling from it.

"Frodo," Gandalf called out, "Come help an old man."

The ring-bearer went to the wizard's side and helped him climb the rocks.

"How's your shoulder?" The wizard asked.

"Better than it was." Frodo replied.

"And the ring?" The wizard stopped and looked the hobbit in the eye. "You feel its power growing, don't you?"

Frodo nodded.

"Yes, I've felt it too. You must be careful. Evil will be drawn to you from outside the Fellowship... and I fear from within."

Gandalf diverted his eyes to the members of the Fellowship as they continued walking passed them to reach the end of the path.

"Who then do I trust?" Frodo asked.

"You must trust yourself, trust your own strength."

"What do you mean?"

"There are many powers in this world, Frodo, as well as others; for good or for ill. Some are greater than I am and some I have not yet been tested against." The wizard spoke cryptically, almost as if he foresaw doom in their future.

"What about Inuyasha and his friends?" Frodo asked.

"They are very strong, without a doubt, and they are good people from I can tell; but I fear that they might seek to become more powerful than they already are."

After Gandalf finished speaking, everyone heard Gimli gasp as he pointed ahead of them, "The walls of Moria."

Everyone looked and saw the wall of the mountain where the entrance resided.

**X X X**

As the made their way around the lake, they walked along the wall in an effort to find the entrance.

"Dwarf doors are invisible when closed." Gimli said before he tapped his axe against the wall to find a hollow spot.

"An invisible door, reminds me of the secret door back on Azagiri Island." Kaname mentioned.

"Yes, my dear. Except with Dwarf doors, even their own masters cannot find them, if their secrets are forgotten." Gandalf said back.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Legolas commented which caused the dwarf to grumble.

The Fellowship came to a stop in between two withered trees and Gandalf went against the rocky wall as if seeing something that the others couldn't. He started reading aloud elvish words before saying, "It mirrors only starlight and moonlight."

He looked up toward the sky and soon the moon appeared from behind the clouds. Suddenly everyone was astonished when the wall began to light up, forming what appeared to be an archway with image of stars, a hammer, an anvil and some strange writing.

Gandalf held his staff against the wall and said, "It reads, 'The doors of Durin, Lord of Moria, speak friend and enter.'"

"What do you suppose that means?" Merry asked.

"Oh, it's quite simple. If you are a friend, you speak the password and the doors will open." The wizard replied before speaking in Dwarvish.

A moment passed and nothing happened.

Gandalf then started speaking in Elvish.

Another moment passed and still nothing happened.

"Nothing's happening." Pippin said aloud.

"No kidding." Inuyasha responded.

Growing frustrated, Gandalf tried desperately to push the stone doors open with his hands and even his shoulder before muttering, "I once knew all tongues of Elves, Men and Orcs."

"Typical old man, it figures that he would forget how to open the doors." Inuyasha commented.

"What are ya gonna do next?" Pippin asked.

"Knock your head and Inuyasha's against these doors, Peregrin Took," Gandalf snapped loudly, "And if that does not shatter them and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions and annoying comments," Gandalf started calming down, "I will try to find the opening words."

"Hey, old man, you want to go at it right here, then bring it-."

"Inuyasha, sit." Kagome said sending inside to the ground with a _Thud!_

"Should've seen that one coming." Shippo commented on top of Kagome's shoulder as he shook his head.

**X X X**

About an hour had passed; Gandalf was tiredly speaking in many languages saying different words hoping he would get lucky.

The rest of the Fellowship decided to take the time to sit and rest. Frodo sat near Gandalf to keep an eye on him as Michiru sat nearby as well reading the book Elrond had given him.

Kaname sat with Kohaku, Merry and Pippin as they fiddled with some rocks while Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku and Shippo sat with Boromir, Legolas and Gimli eating dinner and for some smoking pipeweed.

Sango and Kilala watched as Aragorn and Sam were removing the harness from Bill the Pony. "The Mines are no place for a pony." Aragorn stated. "Even one as brave as Bill."

"Bye-bye, Bill." Sam said with a hint of sadness.

"Go on, Bill, go on." Aragorn said as he sent Bill on his way. "Don't worry, Sam, he knows the way home."

Sango stood and said, "I think the wolves will get him before he can get far enough away but I can have Kilala make sure he gets away safely."

Sam smiled and said, "Could you do that?"

"Sure, how long will it take to get through Moria?" Sango asked Aragorn.

"About four days, if we don't run into any trouble." The Ranger replied.

"Kilala, meet us on the other side of the mountain in four days."

The Cat-Demon mewed and purred and she rubbed herself against Sango neck before jumping off.

"Take care, Kilala." The Demon-Slayer bid farewell to her companion.

"She'll be alright, sis, Kilala can take care of herself." Her younger brother said to her which allowed her to smile for a moment.

Merry was trying to entertain himself by throwing rocks in the water. Pippin soon followed suit and then Kaname came up to them and said, "You two want to see something cool."

The hobbits nodded and she picked up a small flat stone and threw it and they watched as it skipped six times before sinking into the water.

"That was amazing." Pippin said.

Merry asked the Shikigami user, "Could you do it again?"

She picked up another flat stone and just as she pulled her arm back, Aragorn had come up and stopped her gently and said softly, "Do not disturb the water."

Kaname turned toward the water and noticed that there were small waves forming even though the wind wasn't blowing. She then realized that there was something in the water that was now very much awake.

Gandalf had stopped trying to open the magic doors and said as he tossed his staff to the ground, "Oh, it is useless." He sat himself next to Frodo and removed his hat and attempted to think of what the thing meant.

"What does it mean, what is the password?" Michiru said he flipped through the pages of the elvish book.

"Its beyond me that's for sure." The wizard muttered.

Frodo then got up and looked at the door and then said, "It's a riddle, speak 'friend' and enter. What's the elvish word for 'friend'?"

Michiru then flipped a few pages in the book to look it up himself but was saved the trouble when Gandalf said, "_Mellon_."

Suddenly everyone heard a grinding sound and they all turn to see that the doors were opening. They then gathered their stuff and entered a deep dark chamber. Gandalf went in first and attempted to create a light beacon from his staff.

Gimli started to speak proudly, "Soon master elf, you will enjoy fabled hospitality of the Dwarves. Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone."

"Oh, that sounds good." Inuyasha said as he felt his stomach growling despite having eaten a small meal just a moment ago. Suddenly his nose caught something, the smell of death. "Then again, I think I just lost my appetite."

Gandalf managed to get a small light to shine from his staff as Gimli continued on.

"Well, its your loss then, lad. This, my friend, is the home of my cousin Balin and they call it a mine. A mine!"

Boromir said immediately when he got a good look around them, "This isn't a mine; it's a tomb."

Everyone then looked down at their feet and noticed bones that were the shape and size of dwarves.

"No... no..." Gimli cried out in disbelief as he ran over to one of the more recent dead bodies and saw that it was a Dwarf with a spear through his chest. "NOOO!"

Legolas went to another one of the corpses and pulled out an arrow to inspect it and said, "Goblins."

Everyone then drew their weapons as they slowly walked backwards toward the entrance.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan." Boromir stated. "We should never have come here. Now get out of here, get out!"

Suddenly when they least expected it, something snagged Frodo's ankle and started to drag him out toward the lake.

"Strider!" Sam yelled.

Everyone turned and saw a tentacle that belonged to a sea creature attempting to pull Frodo into the water. Sam, Merry and Pippin started chopping at it with their small swords.

"Get off him!" Sam yelled at the creature as he sent a heavy chop which cut halfway through tentacle and caused it to withdraw back to the water.

A second later, a dozen more tentacles shot out of the water and smacked the three hobbits aside before grabbing Frodo once again. Kaname attempted to fry the tentacles with her Shikigami but she got snagged by one of the tentacles and was being dragged in herself.

Inuyasha, Aragorn and Boromir charged into the water and started slicing at the tentacles while Legolas and Kagome readied their arrows when Michiru shouted, "Don't, you might hit Frodo and Kaname!"

The two faltered at the realization until Inuyasha, Aragorn and Boromir could get their friends clear.

The tentacles that grabbed Frodo and Kaname hoisted them into the air and they looked down and saw the head of the lake monster rise up from the water. It resembled some kind of giant squid that was known as the Watcher and when they saw its fanged mouth open, they realized that it was gonna eat them.

Taking immediate action, Kaname sent a Shikigami fireball at the creature's face which stunned it long enough for Inuyasha and Boromir to slice the holding Frodo and Kaname. Boromir managed to catch Frodo while Inuyasha effortlessly jumped up and caught Kaname in mid-air.

"Into the mines!" Gandalf yelled out to them.

As the Fellowship ran in as fast as they could, the Watcher, though wounded, was still alive and very mad. It used its tentacles to crawl out of the water and onto the shore to stop them.

Fortunately as soon as their friends were clear Michiru yelled, "Their clear, attack it now!"

Legolas, Kagome and Michiru started shooting and throwing their best attacks at the beast's head to slow it down and buy themselves and their friends some time to get in.

Legolas fired an elven arrow at the Watcher's eye and Kagome followed up by firing three arrows at once at its head. As Legolas and Kagome drew another arrow each Michiru said, "Guys, fire your arrows simultaneously. Forces of nature, heed my call, unleash our power Shikigami!"

Legolas and Kagome nodded to each other before the released their arrows together and Michiru's Shikigami combined with Legolas's elven arrow and Kagome's purified arrow as they hit the creature in both of its eyelids sending spurts of blood into the water.

The Watcher grew angrier and launched its tentacles at them.

"Oh, brightly shining light, protect us from evil, Wall of Light!" Michiru said as he projected a barrier around the three of them to block the creature's attack. "Oh, mighty cold stone, freeze our enemy in its tracks, Frost Beam!" He followed up by shooting bright glittering beams from his palms at the water which froze the lake solid and the Watcher with it.

As the Fellowship got passed the doors, the three followed behind as the creature used its profound strength to break free of the ice and crawl onto the shore smashing at the doors with its tentacles as it attempted to snag at least one of them.

In mere seconds, the entrance into Moria started to cave in. The Fellowship managed to get far enough away from the falling rocks to watch the last ray of light from outside fade away.

As everyone took a moment to catch their breath in the pitch black darkness Gandalf said, "We now have but one choice..." He then tapped his staff against the ground and the crystal at the top started to glow brightly. "...We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard, there are older and even fouler things than orcs in the deep places of this world."

As they started following the wizard, Michiru summoned his light Shikigami to form a white glowing sphere in the palm of his left hand while Shippo did something similar with his Fox Fire. They also used their magic to help Aragorn and Boromir light two torches for extra light.

As they started walking up some steps on the opposite side of the entrance Gandalf whispered, "(Quietly now, it's a four day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed.)"

* * *

**Author's Note: This concludes Chapter 11 and I'd like to announce that I will be updating my fanfics by the two most reviewed which for right now are "Secret of the Cursed Ring" and "Spider-Man and the X-Men: Year One" to save on time between updates; I will occasionally update another as well if I have time.**

**Before I continue I'd like to ask my readers, being that I'm setting this in the movie verse of Lord of the Rings; should I include the characters from the Lord of the Rings: The Third Age video game or should I leave them out altogether? Also should I bring Naraku into the mix? If so then I already have an idea as to when to put him in.**

**{Update} I added a little extra in terms of the avalanche scene and the scene with cave. As the for the battle with the Watcher I thought it would be both realistic and like an RPG game to have Michiru, Kagome and Legolas wait until their friends were clear before they took turns to attack the creature; tell me if this was a good idea.**

**Next Chapter: West Moria Part 1 - The Watcher's Lair**

**The Fellowship enters the mines only for them to finish off their recent foe making Michiru and Kaname use their new Shikigami techniques to defeat it.**


	12. West Moria Part 1: The Watcher

**Chapter 12: West Moria Part 1 - The Watcher's Lair**

Middle-Earth: The Mines of Moria, Western Moria

It was going to be a dark trek through the Mines of Moria. Even with Michiru, Kaname, Shippo and Gandalf's illumination spells, the old dwarf kingdom was complete blackness with each step they took. They had journeyed up the stairs from where they entered and they came to a three-way split.

To their right was a dead end with a lone wooden chest, ahead of them was more steps only the path was caved in so their only choice was the left path but Michiru looked at the chest to the right with curiousity.

Michiru then wandered over which Inuyasha immediately noticed and whispered, "(Michiru, what are you doing? It's a dead-end.)"

Everyone turned to the Shikigami user as he replied, "(There might be something important in that chest.)"

"(We cannot stray, we must keep going so make it quick.)" Gandalf spoke.

Michiru nodded before he quietly made his way to the chest and opened it. He looked inside and saw a strange rune tablet.

Gandalf approached along with his sister as the Fellowship stood back while they saw Michiru hold the rune in his hands and examine it.

"(Gandalf, what is it?)" Michiru asked.

"(It is one of seven ancient runes.)" The wizard replied.

"(There are seven of them?)"

Gandalf nodded and said, "(Seven rings of power were given to the Dwarf Lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. But they were deceived by the Dark Lord Sauron, and in time their kingdoms fell into ruin. But the Dwarves hold many secrets and few are graced to share their language. The secret runes of their ancient kings remain lost in these empty halls. It is _your_ secret to find, my friend.)"

The wizard then handed the first rune back to Michiru and they continued on. Michiru studied it as he walked with his hand shining a light for him and the others to see.

"(Hey, lad, you best be careful with that. Us Dwarves take pride in our secret runes and that holds great value.)" Gimli whispered to him from behind.

"(Don't worry, Gimli, I'll be sure to keep it safe.)" The Shikigami user replied.

The Fellowship walked through a doorway to a big room where there was water below them. The bridge that led to the other side however was broken and there only way across was down the stairs to their left and through the shallow waters to the steps on the other side.

"(We must go through the water if we are to reach the other side, come.)" Gandalf said as he led the way.

The others followed him down the stairs and as the wizard stepped into the shallow water he slowly swished his way across as his soaking robes slowed him down.

Some of the others were not liking the idea of getting wet while some knew they were gonna be getting wet again and knew that there was no alternative. As several of the smaller members as well as the girls were carried across, Michiru began to sense something wrong as he stopped in the middle of the path.

"('Ey, lad, I'd like to get out of the water as soon as possible if ye don't mind.)" Gimli said annoyed by the fact that the water was up to his beard.

"(Shh, something's wrong here.)" Michiru replied.

"(What is it, what do you see?)" Boromir inquired.

"(It's not what I see, it's what I'm sensing... we're not alone in this room.)"

This made everyone tense up as Aragorn, Boromir, Inuyasha and Gandalf drew their swords while Legolas took an arrow from his quiver and Sango readied her Hiraikotsu and Kohaku pulled out his Kasarigama as they waited for something to happen. With Gimli up to his neck in water and Shippo, the Hobbits and Kaname being carried they were unable to defend themselves from a possible attack.

After a few seconds of waiting, there was a huge explosion of water in the middle of the room and the Fellowship saw tentacles pop out of the water followed by the head of the lake monster they had fought just minutes earlier. The Watcher had followed them into Moria through an underwater tunnel connecting the lake outside to the pool area they were in.

"Move!" Gandalf yelled to the Fellowship as he started swishing as fast as he could to the other side of the room.

"You all go, I'll keep it busy!" Michiru said to the others behind he charged up his Flame Shikigami. "Shikigami attack!"

The fire ball flew and exploded in the creature's face causing it to go back under the water for moment and come back up once it shook off the attack.

Kohaku stood to Michiru's left and threw his Kasarigama at the Watcher's face creating a big bloody gash on the left cheek.

The Watcher retaliated by sending a tentacle at the young demon-slayer and knocking him off his feet and into the wall before collapsing in the water.

"Kohaku!" Sango yelled before she ran over to help him up.

Michiru immediately conjured a ball of white light energy and said, "Oh, brightly shining light, annihilate this monstrosity, Light of Chaos!"

Michiru threw the bright white ball at the creatures face causing it to scream ferociously and duck back into the water for a moment before rising back up and charging into the shallow area with its tentacles whipping around.

Michiru managed to avoid the tentacles but the Watcher's collision on the shallow floor shook him off his feet causing him to fall and get soaked from head to toe.

As the Shikigami user got back to his feet, Sango came up to his right side and said, "Get away from him, monster!"

She heeved and then threw her Hiraikotsu as hard as she could and it caused a great big part in the creature's forehead. The Watchers roared violently and attempt to counter-attack but before it could, Sango's Hiraikotsu flew back and created another gash on the right cheek.

The creature roared less louder than before and groaned in pain. The Watcher ducked back into the water to recuperate for a moment giving Michiru time to notice that most of the Fellowship had already reached the other side and were out of the water.

He started to wonder how they were going to kill this thing and in a split second he thought of a plan to defeat the Watcher once and for all but first he had to get himself, Sango and Kohaku out of the water.

"Guys, get out of the water, quick!" He shouted and the demon-slayers nodded and followed his lead. "Hey, sis, as soon as we're out of the water, use your new Shikigami you learned from Gandalf!"

Kaname looked at her brother and nodded as Aragorn let her off his back after they were out of the water.

As Sango and Kohaku ran throught water to the other side of the room, Michiru waited for the Watcher to rise up and summoned another flame Shikigami.

"Oh, flame burning bright, shine your judgement upon us, Flame of Judgement!" He said as sent a wave of fire at creature, causing several flames to burn over various parts of its body.

The Watchers howled in pain once again and lowered itself back into the water to extinguish the flames and recuperate. In that moment, Michiru saw that Sango and Kohaku had reached dry land and started rushing himself over as well before the creature rose back up and came after him.

Soon the Watcher rose up out of the water and Michiru was at least five feet away from the concrete ledge that led out of the water. The creature roared and sent a tentacle at him only for Inuyasha to jump into the water and block the attack with his Tetsusaiga and then slice the tentacle off before grabbing Michiru and jumping as hard as he could out of the water.

As they were about to land on the ledge Michiru shouted, "Kaname, NOW!"

His sister nodded and she said as she summoned a yellow aura, "Oh, lightning cracking might, obliviate this evil force, Lightning Fury!"

Kaname held her hands out aimed at the Watcher and shot out yellow lightning bolts from her palms. The lightning bolts connected with the Watcher's head and surged throughout the water and its entire body, lighting it up like a Christmas Tree. The Watcher howled in agony as it swung what remaining tentacles it had left all over the place.

After Kaname's attack ceased, the Watcher's howling lessened and it's body started sizzling and burning. In seconds its tentacles fell into the water and it's body started sinking into the dark waters.

The Fellowship regained their composure and kept their eyes on the water.

"Fried squid, anyone?" Kaname said which made several of the others laugh.

"Is it dead finally." Inuyasha asked.

"One of the mysteries in the world is that water and electricity do not mix." Gandalf responded as he turned to his companions. "Nice work, everyone, you have slayed a very powerful foe. Now we shall continue our journey through Moria. We were fortunate that our little quarrel didn't arouse attention to the inhabitants but once we leave this room, we best stay quiet."

The wizard then led the way as the Fellowship exited the room not taking their eyes off the water even a second until they were all out of the room.

* * *

**I decided to make this one of a multiple chapter story arc and I thought it would be interesting to include elements from the Third Age video game. For some of you who might not notice I have rewritten Chapters 9, 10 and 11 a bit to add more to the story.**

**I used the RPG concept by having Michiru, Kohaku and Sango fighting the Watcher and for the two Demon Slayers to be traded out, though briefly, for Inuyasha and Kaname. Though the chapter was short, it sets up more for what I have planned later for future chapters.**

**Next Chapter: West Moria Part 2 - Through The Mithril Mines**

**As the Fellowship travels through the dark mines they learn about the metal known as Mithril and what its capable of. They also learn that they are not alone in the dark mines and are being followed.**


	13. West Moria Part 2: Through The Mines

**Chapter 13: West Moria Part 2 - Through The Mithril Mines**

Middle-Earth: The Mines of Moria, Western Moria

The Fellowship had left the Watcher's Lair after having vanquished the tentacled foe and continued their journey to the other side of the mountains. They were now walking through a cavernous tunnel that had twisted corners and rays of light shining through.

As the walked, Inuyasha paused as he heard slight breathing noises that did not emanate from the Fellowship. His nose also whiffed a scent that was familiar and at the same time unfamiliar.

The tunnels smelled like wolf.

"(Hey, old man, when were you going to tell us about the wolves up ahead?)" Inuyasha whispered.

"(You need not worry, Inuyasha. The smell is that of Wargs.)" Gandalf responded.

"(Wargs?)"

"(Yes, Saruman admires the Warg, a terrible creation that mocks the wolf. To spread terror he unleashed them upon the lands surrounding Isengard. They are fast and powerful creatures, able to bring down a horse and rider. Few can withstand their attack. Now there is evidence that they invaded Moria, but with your enhanced sense of smell we shall avoid their dens.)" The wizard explained quietly.

"(Well then, it seems we managed to find something far worse than Koga and his band of fleabags.)" Inuyasha commented quietly.

"(Who?)" Gandalf inquired.

Michiru spoke up, "(We'll explain later.)"

Gandalf gave an understanding nod as the Fellowship pressed on.

They soon emerged from the cavernous tunnels into a wide open mining cavern with pits that appeared the go on for miles should anyone or anything fall from the path.

There were two paths in front of them; one was a path that went to the left to a wooden bridge where on the other side sat a chest which Michiru sensed had the same aura as the one he had opened earlier, the other path straight ahead of them was a narrow stone-carved bridge that twisted around a bit but appeared to be safe despite having no guard rails.

"(Guys, there's another chest over there. I think it has another rune in it.)" Michiru said softly.

Gandalf replied, "(If you wish to acquire it, you best be quick. We cannot linger for very long.)"

Michiru nodded and cautiously made his way over the wooden bridge while trying not to make any loud noises. After he was across he went over to the chest and opened it to reveal another dwarf rune which was a stone consisting of carved writing and pictures along with a ring embedded into it, a ring that once belong to one of the seven dwarf lords.

The modern boy put the rune into his satchel that he acquired from Lord Elrond back in Rivendell and cautiously made his way back to the others.

The Fellowship continued on across the stone-carved bridge following the twisted path until they arrived on a stone path following the side wall that led to gravel steps that they went up, passing the wooden lifts and other dwarf mining machinations that slowly rotted away due to lack of use.

They were walking along another stone path that was very dark until Gandalf's staff lit the surrounding area. The Grey wizard came to a stop when he saw a glittery substance on the wall.

He put his hand on it and said softly as he aimed his staff over the edge of the path, "(The wealth of Moria was not in gold...or jewels...but Mithril.)"

The Fellowship looked over the edge of the path and were amazed to see Gandalf's light illuminate the entire cavern as it reflected the glittered substance along the cavern walls.

"(Bilbo had a shirt of Mithril rings that Thorin gave him.)" Gandalf whispered to the Fellowship as he moved his staff away from the pit and continued leading them through the dark mines.

"(That was a kingly gift.)" Gimli stated.

"(Yes, I never told him but its worth was greater than the value of the Shire. Hard as Dragon Scales yet light as a feather. It has no rival in times of war. Some seek it unto death, some are given it freely. The cavern we are passing through are built around its trade. Now none dare seek it in these dark halls.)"

As the continued on, the four hobbits, notably Frodo were impressed by what the wizard revealed to them.

They pressed on through the darkness when Kaname caught something out of the corner of her left eye. It appeared to be a doorway with some large rocks in front of it and she could've sworn she had seen someone lurking over there. When she wandered over she saw nobody there and that the doorway was a dead end.

_'I was sure there was someone lurking around over here.'_ She thought to herself._ 'Or maybe I'm just jumping at shadows.'_

When she turned back, she saw that the Fellowship was gone.

"(Uh-oh, where is everyone?)" She whispered to herself as her eyes whipped around trying to find a trace of her companions.

**X X X**

The Fellowship followed the Grey Wizard's light out of the Mithril Mines into a cavernous tunnel leading upward.

When they arrived at a small set of steps, Inuyasha's nose sensed that something was wrong. He looked around and noticed that someone was missing.

"(Everyone, stop. Where's Kaname?)" He whispered loudly.

The Fellowship then looked around and saw no sign of the girl Kururugi.

"(She was just here, where did she go?)" Michiru stated.

Everyone looked around and they soon saw they were now short two people given that there were six lights lighting the Fellowship's path and now there were four.

"(Where's Gandalf?)" Frodo asked.

**X X X**

Kaname was now getting scared as she started tip-toeing along the stone path, desperately hoping to find the others.

_'Smooth move, Kaname. You wander away from the others to find look for someone who isn't there and now you're lost in a dark underground kingdom. You've really done it this time.'_

She immediately heard a noise from behind her and she aimed her orb of light in the direction it came from.

There was nothing.

She then turned back to the direction she was walking in and suddenly lost her balance when she noticed that she stepped off the stone path.

She tried to regain her footing but had great difficulty and was about to plummet into the dark abyss, doomed to break every bone in her body when she crashed onto the rocks below... assuming there were any unless the pit was bottomless.

Instinct told her to scream in fear of her possible death, but she knew that it would rouse every monster within Moria and result in them finding and slaughtering her friends.

_'So this is how it ends...'_ She thought to herself. _'I'm gonna fall into a bottomless pit and die without my friends or my own brother knowing about it?'_

As she was about to fall, Gandalf appeared behind her and grabbed her hand. He managed to pull her back onto the path and whispered, "(You shouldn't stray, Kaname.)"

"(I'm sorry, I thought I saw someone hiding over there so I tried to look for them but there was nobody there and when I looked back you were all gone. I thought I was gonna fall and die.)"

"(You needn't fear as we wander Moria's mazes. For powerful beings such as I are here to aid you.)" Gandalf said as he led her back to the others.

"(Well, I'm grateful for that. Its nice to know that there's someone watching out for other people.)"

"(Yes, though people may say otherwise, they always look to someone for guidance. For many long years I have played the role of the grey wanderer, traveling across the lands of Middle-Earth and aiding those who needed it.)"

"(So you helped people across Middle-Earth all by yourself?)" Kaname inquired.

"(Not neccessarily. Another, the White Wizard Saruman, calls himself the leader of our order.)"

"(Saruman? He was your leader?)"

"(So he boasted, he _was_ a very wise wizard. A man of reason and understanding. But Saruman chose to see afar, to see all. And is his greed, he became enslaved.)"

"(Enslaved?)"

Gandalf nodded, "(By the power of Sauron, he became a servant of evil when he tried to master the palantir, one the lost all-seeing stones. Something that fortunately did not befall you and your brother when you gazed into his eye.)"

Kaname shuddered at the aweful memory of that experience and said, "(Please, don't remind me.)"

"(My apologies, but you must understand that Saruman too fell victim to the Dark Lord's gaze. Unfortunately, he was not strong enough to resist his power. We have had, you see, a falling out.)"

"(When you went to Isengard seeking his help?)"

"(Yes, and thus his servants have forced our party to skirt Saruman's domain. For he hopes that here within Moria I shall fall to a greater power than even _he_ possesses.)"

"(What do you mean?)"

"(It's nothing for you to worry about.)"

Kaname could tell that is wasn't nothing and persisted, "(Gandalf, is there something in Moria that's got you scared? I didn't want to bring it up in front of everyone else but you _have_ been acting funny ever since Gimli first mentioned traveling through here. Everyone can tell that you're hiding something. Why? Don't you trust us?)"

Gandalf replied, "(I understand your concern, Kaname, but you need not worry. If our luck holds, we will get through Moria without running into any trouble.)"

As they neared their friends location, Kaname could only think to herself. '_Its the drawback to that whole plan that I'm worried about.'_

**X X X**

The Fellowship started to just about panic as two members of their party have disappeared into the darkness.

"(Where could they have disappeared to?)" Boromir inquired.

"(Could they have gotten lost?)" Shippo asked as he started to worry.

Aragorn stated, "(I doubt would have gotten lost, but Kaname is another story.)"

"(She wouldn't have wandered off without telling anybody.)" Michiru pointed out. "(We both learned that when we first showed up in the Feudal Era.)"

Boromir asked bewildered, "(The what?)"

"(I'll explain later but right now we need to find them fast.)" Kagome stated.

"(No need to panic, my dear.)" Everyone turned to see Gandalf and Kaname coming from the Mithril Mines.

"(Thank goodness you two are alright.)" Kagome said with relief.

Michiru asked as he calmed himself down, "(Where were you anyway?)"

Before Kaname could say anything Gandalf replied, "(It no longer matters, let us press on.)"

Though the Fellowship wondered where the two had been, they decided not to push the issue as they continued up the small set of steps through the cavern, leaving the Mithril Mines and its the buried treasures behind.

* * *

**I recently came down with a bug that confined me to the house for two days and it gave me the time to finish Chapter 13 and upload it. I should be back on my feet by tomorrow and ready to take on anything.**

**Next Chapter: West Moria Part 3 - Necropolis Crossroads**

**The Fellowship arrive at Moria's Necropolis stairwell leading them to crossroad with three paths, two of which lead to certain doom and Gandalf is unsure as to which is the right path.**


	14. West Moria Part 3: Necropolis Crossroads

**Chapter 14: West Moria Part 3 - Necropolis Crossroads**

Middle-Earth: Mines of Moria, West Moria

The Fellowship exited the cavernous tunnel and arrived at what appeared to be a tomb but it was enormous. It was a wide open cavern with at least fifty to a hundred steep steps leading up from the right of where they came and along the tall staircase were four levels with chambers upon both sides containing coffins.

Gandalf led them up the steep staircase with his staff glowing bright enough for them to see where they were going but not enough to attract any hidden enemies.

As they were climbing, Michiru sensed something through the power of his Shikigami coming from within the Necropolis. He sensed more Dwarven Runes. One on the third level in the tomb on the left and another on the fourth level in the tomb on the right.

Michiru had already strayed two times to collect the first two and even though he didn't want to hold everybody up, there seemed to be something significant to these ancient runes that made him feel he had to acquire them.

Michiru looked to the two companions closest to him and said, "(Inuyasha, Gimli, wait a second.)"

The two stopped and the dwarf replied, "(What is it, lad?)"

"(I sense two more runes within these tombs on the third and fourth levels. Could you two help me get them?)" Michiru asked.

"(Michiru, if you keep wondering off to find these things, we may never get out.)" Inuyasha complained, he really wanted to get out of the mountain kingdom. Something just didn't seem right about it.

"(I know and I'm sorry but I feel like we need to find them, like they hold the key to finding something important. I don't quite understand it myself but please just trust me.)"

"(You know I trust you.)" Inuyasha replied.

Gimli reasoned with the half-demon. "(Come now, Inuyasha. Let us help him recover the runes of my people. He could be right and they are the key to us getting out.)"

Understanding his friend's insistancy, Inuyasha turned to Michiru and said, "(Lead the way.)"

Michiru smiled and did as his friend said. They walked over to the chamber on the third level on the left side and when they entered they saw a wooden chest and laying right next to it was a large four pawed, grey fur animal similar to a wolf sleeping right next to their prize.

_'This must be a warg...'_ Inuyasha thought as he recognized the smell and the description Gandalf gave him earlier. _'Yep, definately worse than Koga and his fleabags; this thing reeks.'_

Michiru tip-toed his way over to the chest, hoping he could open it and claim the rune without disturbing the creature. He slowly undid the clasp and began to open the lid when it creaked which caused the warg's eyes to open and when they caught sight of Michiru, the creature began to growl.

Fortunately before the warg could do anything else, Inuyasha had his Tetsusaiga drawn and jammed the edge of his blade into the creature's head, killing it instantly as it let out a dying yelp.

Michiru sighed and said, "(Now _that _was scary.)"

"(No, _really_?!)" Inuyasha replied sarcastically.

Upon opening the chest Michiru took out the third Dwarf Rune and placed it in his satchel.

They exited the chamber on the third level and ascended the stairs before they walked over to the chamber to the right on the fourth level and as they entered, they saw a wooden chest which clearly contained the artifact but they also saw two Goblins, one in armor holding duel blades and the other dressed in rags holding a bow and arrows, sitting and playing some kind of game until they saw the three enter their chamber.

Reacting quickly, the armored goblin leaped to his feet and charged at Inuyasha but he had already drawn his Tetsusaiga and parried the goblin's attack.

The goblin archer aimed right at Michiru's head and just as he was about to fire, the Shikigami user summoned his Wall of Light as the arrow was released and bounced off the barrier.

Not wasting any time, Gimli rushed toward the goblin archer and swung his ax hard that he sliced it diagnally in half before it could get another shot off.

Inuyasha quickly parried another attack before he took a step back, spun in a leftward one-eighty and swung his Tetsusaiga upward. The goblin stood still wide-eyed in shock as his armor fell apart and a gashing blood line formed from between his legs to the top of his head before he fell on his back motionless.

Michiru sighed and said, "(I'm glad I asked you two to assist me. The warg or the orcs would've killed me easily.)"

"(Don't sell yourself short, you would've wiped the floor with them had you been more careful.)" Inuyasha praised.

"(Maybe, now let's get this rune and get back with the others.)"

With that said, Michiru went to the chest containing the fourth rune and once they had their prize, the three exited the tomb and continued up the stairs after the others only to find that they stopped near three seperate doorways.

They saw Gandalf look at the three doorways and heard him whisper, "(I have no memory of this place.)"

"(Is he serious?!)" Inuyasha asked Michiru rhetorically.

"(I think he is.)" His young friend replied.

Inuyasha grumbled as he sat near Aragorn and Boromir on the top steps they had climbed to keep an eye out for anyone who might follow them up. Gimli sat with most of the Fellowship underneath the rock that Gandalf sat upon as the wizard tried to think of the best way out. Michiru sat near Kaname who was seated next to Frodo on the steps to Gandalf's rock.

Michiru overheard Merry and Pippin wondering what Gandalf was thinking as well as them saying they were hungry when he decided to ask Kaname, "(Are you alright, sis?)"

After a moment Kaname responded, "(I'm okay, I'm just...a little shaken up.)"

"(Kaname, what happened?)" Michiru asked with a look of concern.

"(Nothing, I just got lost is all. Don't worry.)" Kaname lied, not wanting her brother to know what really happened and have to worry about her.

"(Are you sure?)" Michiru persisted.

"(Positive.)"

"(Alright, if you say so.)" Michiru dropped the issue but wasn't buying it.

Suddenly he sensed a disturbance, his Shikigami detected something closing in on the Fellowship's position from the direction they came from. Kaname sensed it too and the twins turned and saw a gangrel creature climbing up the rocky cavern left of the stairs while sticking to the shadows to avoid detection with little success.

Frodo noticed them looking down and turned to see the creature as well. Michiru and Kaname looked at each other and Michiru went over to where Inuyasha, Aragorn and Boromir were sitting while Kaname and Frodo went over to where Gandalf was sitting.

"(There's something down there.)" Frodo said to the wizard.

"(It's Gollum.)" Gandalf replied.

"(Gollum?)"

"(You mean that creature that Bilbo took the ring from?)" Kaname inquired.

"(Yes.) Gandalf stated. "(He's been following us for three days.)"

"(He escaped the dungeons of Barad-Dur.)" Frodo realized.

"(Escaped...or was set loose...)" Gandalf pointed out as they turned and saw Gollum cling to an old metal railing to overhear what they were whispering. "(...and now the ring has drawn him here. He will never be rid of his need for it. He hates _and_ loves the ring, as he hates and loves himself. Smeagol's life is a sad story.)"

This earned him a confused stare from Kaname and Frodo.

"(Yes, Smeagol he was once called...before the ring found him...before it drove him mad.)"

"(It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance.)" Fordo said as he sent a glare at Gollum's direction.

"(Pity?)" Gandalf said in disappointant at Frodo's remark. "(It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that deserve death and some that die deserve life. Can you give that to them, Frodo?)"

This left Kaname and Frodo speechless as Gandalf continued.

"(Do not be too eager to deal out death and judgement. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. Besides my heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet in our journey, for good or ill, before this is over.)"

"(Oh, yeah?)" Gollum growled to himself as he hid under the railing waiting for the right time to retake the ring.

"(The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.)" Gandalf finished.

Frodo and Kaname simply sat next to the wizard while they waited.

"(I wish the ring had never come to me...I wish none of this had happened.)" Frodo said somberly.

"(So do all who wish to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.)" Gandalf stated. "(There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the ring and in which case you also were meant to have it.)" Gandalf then turned to Kaname. "(And Kaname and her friends probably weren't meant to come here, but they are and their presence will change what would have been and what should have been, for better or worse, and that is an encouraging thought.)"

Michiru stood next to Inuyasha who had his hand on his Tetsusaiga while Aragorn and Boromir merely sat at the top of the steps staring at where Gollum was hiding.

"(What is he doing?)" Michiru asked.

"(Biding his time, waiting for the right moment to come and take the ring.)" Aragorn explained.

"(He ain't getting even an inch near us.)" Inuyasha remarked. "(I say we waste him now and save us the trouble later.)"

Aragorn shook his head. "(No, Gandalf does not wish for his death and so we must let him live for now.)"

"(Now that's just stupid.)" Inuyasha remarked.

"(Maybe, but it is not my decision to make and even if it were, I would not so lightly go against Gandalf's advice.)"

"(Neither would I, but I do agree with Inuyasha...)" Boromir stated. "(...As long as Gollum lives, he'll constantly follow whoever has the ring and he could strike at any time. He would probably kill at least one of us if we allow him to live.)"

"(Perhaps, never-the-less we will obide by Gandalf and let him live a while longer.)"

With that, Michiru, Inuyasha, Aragorn and Boromir kept their eyes on Gollum's hiding place and remained vigilant.

Back up with Gandalf, Kaname sat beside the wizard and asked, "(Gandalf?)"

"(Yes, dear child?)"

"(Do you think it was Gollum that I spotted back in the mines...you know...when I got seperated from you and the others?)"

"(I believe so and lucky for you, I suspected he was following us before you vanished and managed to get to you in time. Had I not suspected it, you wouldn't be here now.)" Gandalf explained. "(I notice you didn't tell your brother about your little ordeal.)"

"(I'd rather not tell him, I just dealt with nearly dying at the hands of a Ringwraith and I don't want him sticking by me all the time like I'm a defenseless child.)" Kaname said somberly.

"(Do what you wish but he is your brother and it is his responsibility to keep you safe, even if you don't want him to.)"

"(Which is exactly why I don't wanna tell him, just the idea that I could've fallen into the pit without him knowing would get him all worked up.)"

"(You cannot control how he feels or does things any more than he can. Even the most powerful being cannot control everything, no matter the choices he makes. All he can do is what he can and let fate handle the rest.)" Gandalf stated before he took a whiff of the air and said enthusiastically as he gestured to the first doorway on the left, "Oh, its _that_ way."

Everyone turned toward him and Merry smiled as he said, "(He's remembered!)"

"(No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down here, as I'm sure Inuyasha can tell.)" Gandalf said as he went over to the doorway.

Inuyasha sniffed the three tunnels and said, "(Yeah, now that you mention it, there doesn't seem to be that many goblins down there.)"

"(So you see, whenever in doubt Meriadoc, always follow your nose.)" Gandalf stated to the young hobbit.

"(Reminds me of a cartoon bird back from our world.)" Michiru whispered to his sister which made her giggle.

Gandalf then said as everyone gathered around the doorway, "(There will be a slight problem however, if I remember correctly there is a stone door down this path and like the Western Gate it will require a password. I remember hearing that the password was kept in the Thrown Room in a Book of Secrets but as to which of the other paths lead to it, I cannot tell.)"

"(Great, so now we're back to square one.)" Inuyasha muttered.

"(So what you're saying Gandalf is that this way will lead to the exit, but we need the password from one of the other two passages?)" Michiru asked.

"(Yes, so I think it will be best if we split up.)" Gandalf stated. "(I will take the hobbits to the door where we will wait for the rest of you to acquire the password needed to open it. Aragorn, you take Michiru, Sango, Gimli, Inuyasha and Kagome down the middle passage. Legolas, you take Boromir, Kohaku, Kaname, Miroku and Shippo down the right passage. If one of you doesn't find the Thrown Room and the Book of Secrets, get back here and wait for the others and then follow us to the door.)"

"(We will not fail.)" Aragorn stated.

"(Good, may we meet at the door in one piece. Good luck to you all.)"

With that, Gandalf led Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin down the left passage.

"(Well then, let's see what's behind door number two; shall we?)" Michiru stated humorously to which a several others snickered.

Aragorn's group then ventured into the middle passage and Legolas' group ventured down the right passage.

**X X X**

Gandalf led the four hobbits down the passage where there was a door that would lead to the exit but required a password. He remembered how when he last ventured to Moria, he had entered from the Eastern Gate and exited through the Western Gate and at that time, all the doors were open. He never even knew about the three passages for he had exited the one path and didn't see the others as he was being led through the mines on a tour.

He was fortunate that Balin had told him about some of the doors and how to open them even though he wasn't told the passwords. The wizard only hoped that there weren't any other things he might not have noticed last time that would delay them from their quest, he also hoped that the seperated members of the Fellowship could acquire the password without raising too much commotion within the darkness.

He knew they had been lucky that they didn't wake the entire mountain with their quarrel with the Watcher and he knew about Michiru, Inuyasha and Gimli's brief skirmish with a Warg and three goblins even though they said nothing and kept it quiet. With any luck, there would be only a couple Goblins on their path and they could dispatch of them quickly and quietly before real trouble came their way.

"(Gandalf?)" Frodo called out.

The wizard snapped out of his thoughts and replied, "(Yes, Frodo?)"

"(Do you think it was wise for us to split up?)"

"(Yes, as risky as it may seem, we can cover more ground and be certain that we get out without alerting the inhabitants.)"

"(What if they get lost?)" Pippin inquired.

"(As long as they have light and can familiarize themselves with their surroundings, they will surely find their way around this dark place.)"

"(I sure hope so, I'd hate for even one of them to be stuck wandering around in this place with no idea how to get out.)" Sam stated.

Gandalf added, "(As would I, Samwise, as would I.)"

**X X X**

Legolas led his group down a tunnel that had stairs going down in a spiral until they saw a narrow space where a bright orange-red light with smoke loomed up from. The Elf guessed that they were heading to some kind of forge area as the air seemed to start getting warm. He couldn't help but to sense a great evil at the end of their path and hoped that Gandalf hadn't made a mistake in sending them down here.

"(Hey, is it just me or is it getting warm in here?)" Kaname asked quietly.

"(It's not you, the air is getting warmer with each step we take along this path.)" Miroku stated.

"(Yes, and the smell almost reminds me of Mordor.)" Boromir added.

"(Something evil lurks down here. We best be cautious.)" Legolas warned them as they continued on.

**X X X**

Aragorn and his group ventured up the tunnel to a set of steps upward and followed the twisting passage toward what they hoped to be the Throne Room. He had been to Moria only once before and he was uncertain as to which passage led where. Though Gandalf seemed uncertain, he at least knew more than the ranger did.

"(Why is this place so dead?)" Inuyasha asked.

"(I don't know, it wasn't like this last time I was here.)" Gimli replied.

"(Legolas said that they were killed by Goblins; but how could they have taken over this entire kingdom?)" Kagome wondered.

"(We have had no word from Moria in many years.)" Aragorn stated. "(It is possible that the Goblins had vast numbers and had taken their time conquering this place.)"

Inuyasha asked, "(If they have vast numbers then where the hell are they?)"

"(Likely sleeping in the lower depths of the mines.)"

"(Then why did Michiru, Gimli and I find two of them and a warg, which I'm guessing was one, back in the Necropolis playing a game and sleeping?)"

"(They must've been scavengers looking for treasures and were taking a break, more will likely be sent up which is why it is best to keep quiet and get out of here quickly.)"

"(Hmp!)" Inuyasha scoffed. "(I'm not scared of any goblins, if they find us I'll take care of them by myself.)"

Aragorn couldn't help but to smirk at his boasting and muttered, "(Famous last words.)"

**X X X**

Gandalf and the hobbits reached the end of the passage leading to a balcony with a sealed chest overlooking what appeared to be a sarcophocous with bright beam of light shining through a small hole high up in the wall onto it.

They descended the steps of the balcony and saw that next to the sarcophocous were four goblins that appeared to be conversing in their own language.

The Goblins then spotted the wizard and the four hobbits and grew aggitated as they drew their weapons.

Gandalf immediately slammed his staff to the ground and the light from the top grew so bright that the goblins were blinded.

Frodo immediately drew his sword Sting and took out a Goblin with a spinning slice.

Sam then drew his sword and ran toward another and delivered a hammering strike that sent the goblin face first to the ground in a bloody heap.

Once the other two goblins regained their sight and noticed that two of their own were vanquished, they made a run towards the door that the Fellowship needed to open. As they were about to speak the incantation, Merry and Pippin jumped them from behind a set of columns and quickly dispatched them.

Gandalf looked to the left wall passed the set of columns holding the ceiling up and saw the door in the wall, the carved language of its founder making it visible.

The wizard said as he pointed to it, "(There, that is our way to the exit. We shall rest here until our friends return with the password.)"

Gandalf didn't say anymore for he knew that Merry and Pippin had killed the two goblins who were very likely going to give them the password and had they done it, they would've escaped and warned the entire horde within the mountain. He just as well thought that it was best that they killed the goblins for it was a test to their capabilities for the battles to come their way.

**X X X**

Legolas and his party had arrived in a warm, vast cavern with a deep dark pit that emitted a feiry orange glow all around it and yet there was no sight of any flames. To the elf it was a strange and yet forboding sight.

"(What is this place?)" Kaname asked.

"(I think its another mining area.)" Legolas said as he spotted wooden platforms and winches the dwarves used to dig in the mines.

"(So this isn't the throne room?)" Miroku inquired.

"(I'm afraid not.)"

"(S-So we came all this way for nothing?)" Shippo asked nervously, fearing that they might be trapped forever in the mountain.

"(Maybe not.)" Kaname stated as she pointed down to a wide area on their right. "(I sense something down there.)"

"(Anything useful in getting us out of here?)" Kohaku asked.

"(I can't tell from here, but my Shikigami is telling me that we need to go down there.)"

"(Then we best hurry and regroup with the others.)" Legolas said as they made their way down a set of steps to their left. The elf trusted her as she believed they needed to go to where she was leading them as her magic wouldn't lie to her.

They went down and turned right before walking along a narrow path, staying close to the wall as possible.

Kaname then got a little curious and stepped close to the pit to see what was down it. All she could was the orange glow of the cavern extend several yards before everything turned black.

She then continued on and the group arrived in the wide area where most of the digging equipment was.

Suddenly, Kaname accidentally stepped on a skull that shattered and from out of nowhere, up to six goblins appeared and surrounded them.

In a quick moment everyone looked to Kaname and she laughed nervously and sheepishly said, "Uh, oops?"

They then got into fighting positions and formed a back-to-back defensive circle to prevent the goblins from sneak attacking them.

"(I think we may have found more than we bargained for.)" Boromir stated.

Legolas faced an archer who aimed and fired at him and his companions.

"(Watch out!)" He warned them and they all ducked as the arrowed zoomed over them.

Legolas retaliated by drawing an arrow and firing it passed the goblin archer and hitting a rope which caused a digging rig consisting of a concrete cube tied to a wooden column to swing loose and slam into the goblin from behind, sending him flying toward Legolas who quickly switched out his bow for his dual elven blades and with one swing of both blades sliced the creature into three pieces.

An armored goblin charged at Boromir and attempted to strike him but he blocked with his shield and jammed his sword into the creature's gut before spinning to his right and throwing the goblin off his sword and making it slam hard into a boulder.

Kohaku spun the scythe of his Kasarigama in a back-downward twirled and flung it into the goblin rabble's chest, causing black blood to seep out before Kohaku heaved with all his strength and lifted the goblin in an upward overhead arch and slammed it into the ground before repeating once again, twice, three times and then flinging it off his blade and sending it slamming into a wooden column that dropped a stone slab on top of it; squashing the goblin like a bug.

Kaname quietly said, "(Shikigami, please help.)"

She then summoned a blue sphere of water that engulfed a goblin warrior and it squirmed about to try and get free but it was trapped and losing air fast. In a matter of seconds, the goblin tired itself out and drowned within the sphere and Kaname dropped it to the ground.

Shippo started to panic as a goblin rabble stalked over to him.

"(Uh...uh...F-Fox Fire!)" He muttered as closed his eyes and he sent a green ball of flame at the goblin.

The creature was then lit ablaze and screached as it tried to shake off the flames, incidently backing toward the edge of the pit and falling over. It slammed hard onto a small ledge several feet down, knocking itself out and laying there motionless as it burned.

Shippo slowly opened his eyes to see that the goblin was gone and his look of fear changed into a triumpant grin.

Miroku parried the attacks of a goblin warrior and once he found an opening, he struck the creature's chest and then tripped its legs before delivering the fatal blow of sending the sharpened top of his staff to its head, breaking its skull and killing it.

As they all regained their composure and were sure that there weren't anymore goblins in the area, they sheated their weapons and turned to Kaname.

"(Okay, what are we looking for?)" Boromir asked.

Kaname tapped into her Shikigami and followed the flow of the spirits which pointed toward a dwarf skeleton laying in the middle of the area. She went over to it and figured he must have something they need. Legolas, Boromir, Miroku, Shippo and Kohaku watched as she pulled out a rusty metal key.

"(A key?)" Boromir said bewildered.

"(Not just any key.)" Legolas said as he stepped closer to read the etching on the base of it. "(A key to the throne room, to the book of secrets.)"

"(You're serious?)" Kohaku asked astonished by their discovery.

"(Yes, it would seem that we were led here to acquire it. Come, we must catch up with the others and give this to them.)"

With that, Legolas's group quietly rushed back the way they came to follow Aragorn's group to the Throne Room.

**X X X**

Aragorn's group reached the top of the steps and arrived at a bright doorway. They passed through it and were upon a narrow walkway over a deep dark shaft. The pathway led to two intersecting junctions before leading to another doorway to a large chamber. The light they saw shined from a hole above the door at the opposite end.

"(Be careful, this path may look solid but it could very well give away.)" Aragorn warned the others.

They proceeded across the narrow path in a single-file line and watched where they were stepping so as not to trip and fall. As they passed the two junctions that had broken side paths and approached the steps leading up to the doorway to the large chamber, two goblins came out of nowhere and scurried down toward them.

"(An ambush!)" Aragorn stated as he drew his sword.

He quickly parried their sword attacks and pushed them back while Inuyasha leaped into the air, drew his Tetsusaiga and unleashed a small Wind Scar that tore both the goblins in half.

As he landed, Aragorn ran up the stairs to face whatever awaited them and the others followed. They entered a chamber connecting to three different rooms but the middle and right doorways were blocked and waiting for them in the middle of the room were four goblins; one rabble, two archers and an armored warrior.

The two archers each fired an arrow at both Sango and Gimli. Gimli was quick to evade it but Sango took an arrow into her chestplate.

"(Sango!)" Michiru called out with concern as he went over to her and invoked his healing magic on her. "(Oh, mighty flowing river, give me your blessing, Great River Blessing!)"

Gimli retaliated by charging toward one of the archers and delivered an uppercut slice with his battle axe, knocking to dead goblin onto its back.

As the Goblin Rabble attempted to jump at Gimli and take him out, Kagome had already readied an arrow, followed the goblins path of movement and fired it at the creature.

In slow motion speed of the aimed shot soared through the air in the path the goblin's head was about to pass by and as the creature turned toward the sound of the whizzing arrow; it pierced right through its forehead, knocking it away from Gimli onto its back as its jagged sword slipped out of its hand and flipped into the air before falling blade-first into the goblin's chest, pinning its dead carcass to the ground.

"(Nice shot, lass.)" Gimli complimented her.

"(Thanks.)"

Inuyasha stepped in and rushed toward the remaining archer and gave a heavy swing that sliced it diagnally in half, causing the severed pieces of its body to drop dead.

Aragorn was engaged in swordplay with the armored goblin, blocking any attacks that might stun him and attempting to find an opening. He found one and with one hand he blocked the goblin's sword, spun it counter-clockwise out of its hands and left-spun to slice the goblin's head off at the exposed neck.

After defeating the goblins, Aragorn's group rushed through the doorway on the left to find any more goblins that might be waiting for them and they arrived in a chamber with a big fountain in the center.

They took a moment to calm themselves and get ready for anymore surprises and in this time, Michiru approached the fountain and looked into the clean clear water that mirrored his reflection. It appeared to be untainted by the evil that lurked in the mountain. The water reminded him of Rivendell and he wondered if this water was the property of the elves.

Aragorn's group then moved onto the second doorway in the fountain room and stumbled upon the Throne Room with a stone throne against the far back wall with a pedestal before it holding a dusty book with a lock placed on top of it. They also stumbled upon three goblins standing around it; one archer, one warrior, and one mage.

The Goblin Mage noticed them and aimed his scepter toward them, ordering his fellow goblins to attack them.

"(I'll take that!)" Gimli let out as he ran in toward them.

The gobling archer readied an arrow and fired it at the dwarf but Gimli evaded it as he charged toward it and knocked it to the ground with his shoulder before following up by twirling his axe around and heaving it down into the creature's chest, killing it instantly.

The goblin warrior immediately jumped at Gimli and knocked him on his back and was about slay the dwarf.

"(Hiraikotsu!)" Sango let out as she threw her boomerang bone at the creature.

The goblin warrior saw it coming and ducked as it passed over its head and it laughed at her supposed failed attack, but unfortunately the goblin had never seen a boomerang before and found out the hard way that it returns to its owner as he was sliced cleanly in half upon its return to the Demon Slayer.

"(My turn!)" Kagome said as she fired a sacred arrow at the goblin mage but to her shot, the creature had quickly dodged and the arrow got stuck in the stone wall. "(Huh, what happened?!)"

"(That's a goblin mage, they're very tricky when being shot at by arrows.)" Aragorn stated.

"(A goblin mage, huh? Then let's see him avoid this, Wind Scar!)" Inuyasha said as he unleashed a Wind Scar that ripped through the ground toward its target and hit it dead on only for the creature to be knocked on its back and get back up. "(What the-?!)"

"(He must have some kind of barrier protecting him. Oh, overflowing blue sky, clear these storm clouds from my path! Blue Sky Calamity!)" Michiru said as he conjured a his spell he acquired from the Magatama Tree back in Feudal Japan to successfully breack the barrier protecting the goblin mage. "(Yes! Now the finish you off. Oh, flame burning bright, turn into a sword of wrath! Raging Flame!)"

"(Michiru, no!)" Aragorn tried to warn him but it was too late.

As Michiru's attack hit the goblin mage, the creature fell over and got back up as though the attack had no affect on it.

"(Huh?)" Michiru said bewildered.

The goblin mage then bounced up and down a bit as it chanted something in its own language and the top of its scepter started to glow with a flaming aura and soon it aimed its scepter at the Shikigami user, unleashing a devastating Inferno of Udun that would knock Michiru off his feet.

Suddenly Aragorn jumped in the way and took the attack instead, knocking him into Michiru and sending them both tumbling back

"AAHH!" He let out in surprise and pain from the attack.

As soon as the flames were extinguished, he struggled back to his feet as he was literally smoking hot.

"(Ugh, what happened?)" Michiru asked as he tried to help him.

"(Rumor has it that the goblin mages within Moria have an affinity for fire-based magic, your spell had no affect on him because he was immune to it.)" Aragorn explained.

"(Alright, I've had enough of this tricky goblin. Wind Scar!)" Inuyasha said as he unleashed another Wind Scar that completely vaporized the goblin mage. "(Hmph, that took care of him.)"

"(I see you weren't lying about that sword of yours, lad.)" Gimli praised the Half-Demon as he got up and dusted the dirt of his jacket. He then walked over to the pedestal that held the locked book. "(Aah, so this be Moria's Book of Secrets.)"

Sango noticed that the lock not only kept the book closed but also kept it stuck to the pedestal. "(We can't take it with us.)"

"(No, but _I_ shall be the one to open it, that is once we find the key.)" Gimli stated.

"(It must be around here somewhere. Let's find it.)" Michiru said as he finished healing Aragorn's burns.

The group searched the room as best as they could but found sign of a key. While they were searching, Michiru stumbled upon a chest next to the throne and once he opened it, he had acquired the fifth Dwarven rune.

"(I got nothing.)" Inuyasha said in irritation.

Michiru pointed to a doorway on the opposite side of where they entered from and said, "(There's another room over there, let's check it out.)"

They then moved on to the last room within the throne area and found a pedestal in the center with a 3rd Age Steel Walking Axe on it.

"(What do we have here?)" Aragorn said aloud as he carefully went over to pick it up.

"(I can tell by the wrapping on the shaft, its the last axe ever forged in Moria. Respect it, ranger.)" Gimli said as he looked at it.

"(I'm sorry, my friend.)" Aragorn said as he handed it to the dwarf. "(I meant no disrespect.)"

Gimli accepted it and strapped his battle axe on his back as he carried his newly acquired weapon.

Michiru then looked about the room and saw a chest and his Shikigami immediately told him that there was a rune in it.

He went over and opened it, taking out the sixth of the seven runes.

_'Just one more to go.'_ Michiru mentally told himself.

"(It would seem that the key is nowhere to be found.)" Aragorn stated.

"(It has to around here somewhere.)" Kagome said with a worried look. She was afraid that they wouldn't get out of this dark underground kingdom.

"(Let's head back and see if we missed it on our way in.)" Michiru suggested.

They all agreed and arrived back in the throne room when they heard a familiar voice.

"(Aragorn!)" Legolas called out as he and his group arrived from the opposite side.

"(Legolas, nice to see you're all here.)" Aragorn greeted the elf.

"(I see you've found the throne room, and luckily we found the key to the Book of Secrets.)" Legolas said as he pulled it out of his pocket.

Gimli was instantly standing in front of Legolas and said, "(I'll take that, elf.)"

Legolas calmly handed it to Gimli and watched as the dwarf unlocked the book and opened it. He walked up beside him and looked through it with him.

"(Here it is, _Hyndaluiven_. I can speak the words.)"

"(Good, we have what we came for, now we must rejoin Gandalf and the hobbits at the door.)" Aragorn stated and with that, the two groups began their journey back to the Necropolis Crossroads.

They left the Throne Chambers and crossed the narrow junctions before walking down the cavernous tunnel leading to their camping spot. They then traveled down the left passage that led to the door.

Upon arriving at the top of the balcony, Michiru noticed the unopened chest ahead of them and his Shikigami told him that the last dwarf rune was in it. As the two groups exited the tunnel, Michiru went over to it and opened it, taking out the last rune.

"(Seven rings, seven dwarf lords, seven runes. What does it all mean?)" Michiru asked himself as he placed the seventh rune in his satchel.

He then followed the others down the stairs where they saw Gandalf and the hobbits waiting for them.

"(Good, I see you've acquired the password.)" Gandalf stated.

"(It wasn't easy, but we managed.)" Legolas replied.

"(Alright, now let us be on our way.)"

Everyone walked over to the door in the wall when Michiru then noticed the sarcophocous with the beam of light shining upon it and what he saw surprised him. He immediately turned toward Gimli and said, "(Gimli, look at this.)"

The dwarf turned and saw what Michiru noticed, on the side of the sarchophocous was a carved etching of seven dwarf lords.

Right away both understood that the runes must be used on it.

"(We've found it. The runes must go to this; but what could be in it?)" Michiru stated.

"(Only one way to find out, lad.)"

As they approached the sarcophocous, the seven gems embedded into the stone slab began to glow. Michiru noticed something different in his satchel and opened it to see that the seven rings embedded into the runes after their lords' demise were glowing as well.

The sarcophocous opened up and inside they saw a blue Dwarf Velvet Coat with armor sowed inside of it.

"(What is this?)" Gimli said in shock at such a fine looking jacket. "(Never before have I seen such armor.)"

Michiru immediately took it out and handed it to the dwarf as he said, "(It's yours now, in memory of your people.)"

"(Aye, in memory of them all.)" Gimli said as he accepted it and placed it over his red Boiled Leather Coat.

After that, the sarcophocous closed itself up tight and the gems on the slab as well as the rings embedded in the runes ceased to glow.

The two looked a bit puzzled but chose not to dwell on it as they rejoined the others at the door.

"(Here we are. _Hyndaluiven_.)" Legolas said as he approached it.

Suddenly a mystical seal appeared and then evaporated as the door opened up, revealing a dark, long narrow corridor.

"(This passage will lead to the great Hall of Records and our way out. Let's get going.)" Gandalf stated as he led them through.

* * *

**It took me a while and it didn't help with the computer problems and a case of writer's block but I finally got it up. I included slight skirmishes to make the chapter a bit more interesting. I figured that while the goblins were likely resting in the depths of Moria there had to be at least a few along the Fellowship's path in order to hinder there progress a little.**

**Author's Note: I rewatched a playthrough of the Lord of th Rings: The Third Age game and without any subtitles I had to guess that the word for the secret door was **_**Hyndaluiven**_**, spelling it out the way I heard it pronounced. I may be wrong but I could only go with what I could get.**

**On another note, I was slightly disappointed that the seven runes in the game only opened the sarcophocous to give you the velvet coat (which I did like I might add) and I have decided to have them be used to unlock other things in future chapters so wait and see.**

**Next Chapter: West Moria Part 4 - Balin's Tomb**

**The Fellowship arrives at Balin's Tomb in the Hall of Records where they inadvertantly awaken the Goblin horde within Moria and are forced to deal with it.**


End file.
